Royal Challengers Bengaluru have dropped Jacob Duffy for the marquee clash against Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Captain Rajat Patidar informed that Josh Hazlewood would replace him in the playing XI. The Australia international missed the first three matches of the season, owing to injury concerns and is only backed tonight for the first time in 2026. He has been out of action since last October, even missing the Ashes and the T20 World Cup.
Explaining the reason behind the move, Patidar explained the experience Hazlewood brings to the table. Calling him a specialist bowler, Patidar noted Duffyโs brilliance in the first three games of the season, claiming five wickets in two matches. He also won the Player of the Match in RCBโs opening game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but with Hazlewood coming back, there was no room for him in the XI.ย
“Unfortunately, Duffy misses out in this game. Josh in the place of Duffy. Duffy also bowled brilliantly in the last game. But everyone knows Josh is an experienced player, specialist. But I think his presence will definitely put us in a good frame of mind,” Patidar said after the toss.
RR win toss, elect to field
Rajasthan captain Riyan Parag has won the toss and elected to field first. Explaining the reason behind the move, the Assam-born spoke about the dry nature of the surface and added that the goal is to extract the moisture in the first innings.
โWe’re going to be bowling. It was supposed to be a dry wicket, but it has been raining for the last couple of days and rained a bit today as well. So there’s going to be a little moisture. We’re trying to extract it, but seems like a really good wicket,โ Parag said.
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood
Also Read: