Rajasthan Royals were forced to drop Riyan Parag in their must-win clash against Lucknow Super Giants at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal confirmed that the India all-rounder is dealing with a hamstring injury that ruled him out of the competition. However, despite being unavailable for the starting XI, Parag was still named in the Impact Substitute list, keeping him within the matchday setup.
โHe had some hamstring injury and he’ll be fine soon, I hope so. So, he’s not playing this game. We have three changes. Sandy, Sushant Mishra and Lhuan-dre Pretorious come in,โ Jaiswal said after the toss.
The injury comes at a crucial stage of the season for Rajasthan, who are still battling for a place in the playoffs. With every remaining fixture carrying significant weight, Paragโs absence is a major blow to their balance and leadership group.
RR opt to bowl
Rajasthan opted to bowl first after winning the toss. The home side entered the match knowing that their path to the top four remains tight, with results from their final league games likely to determine their fate. As things stand, they need to win both their matches to finish in the top four. A slip-up will mean that the side will no longer be in control of their qualification chances, as Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders await in the wings.ย
Alongside Paragโs absence, Rajasthan made multiple changes to their lineup. The inclusion of Sandy, Sushant Mishra, and Lhuan-dre Pretorious brought fresh options into the side as they reshuffled their combination for the crucial encounter.
Lucknow, on the other hand, have made two changes to the squad. Aiden Markram, who is absent due to a personal reason, was replaced by Ayush Badoni, while Mohammed Shami was replaced by Mohsin Khan.ย
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (wk/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Akash Maharaj Singh, Prince Yadav
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Sushant Mishra, Sandeep Sharma, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja
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