The Rajasthan Royals were forced to leave out captain Riyan Parag from the playing XI against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) in Raipur. The development came in when Yashasvi Jaiswal came out for the coin toss, instead of Parag. The Rajasthan Royals captain suffered a hamstring injury against the Delhi Capitals, forcing Parag to miss the game against the Gujarat Titans. However, having recovered from the injury, Parag returned to the Rajasthan Royals playing XI against the Delhi Capitals. However, he seems to have pulled his hamstring once again. “He had some hamstring injury, and he'll be fine soon, I hope so. So, he's not playing this game,” Jaiswal said when asked about Parag's absence during the toss.

Veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the last game due to a niggle continues to recover too. “Nothing much at the moment. Jaddu bhai is recovering. He has some niggles, but he'll be fine soon,” Jaiswal added. Meanwhile, Jaiswal won the toss and opted to field first.

Sandeep Sharma, Sushant Mishra, and Lhuan-dre Pretorius have come into the Rajasthan Royals playing XI. On the other hand, LSG also made a few changes, with Mohammed Shami making way for Mohsin Khan, and Ayush Badoni replacing Aiden Markram. The Rajasthan Royals are placed fifth in the points table and badly need a win to remain in contention for the playoffs.

What did the captains say?
Asked about the improvements needed for Rajasthan Royals at this stage in IPL 2026, Jaiswal sounded confident. “I think we are all speaking to everyone, and I think the mindset and attitude that we will bring out into the ground, and just enjoy the game. I think it's a wonderful, wonderful day and we have the opportunity to play good cricket,” said Jaiswal.

LSG skipper Rishabh Pant wanted to put their best foot forward in their penultimate game of the season. “As I said in the last few games, we have a lot to play for. As a team, we take pride and confidence in playing every match for our fans. At the same time, we want to put our best foot forward because we know we have a good team and we can do it,” Pant said.

Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Akash Maharaj Singh, Prince Yadav.

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal(c), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dhruv Jurel(w), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Sushant Mishra, Sandeep Sharma, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja.