Excitement reached its peak at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium Rajasthan Royals (RR) collided with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) In his 64th match IPL 2026 on tuesday. With the tournament winding down, every match is crucial for the playoff position. RR captain who won the toss Yashasvi Jaiswal First he was selected to bowl, then he used the evening dew factor in the game. However, before the first ball was bowled, the main talk revolved around the unexpected absence of the marquee players. Rian Parag and Muhammad Shami from the respective starting squads.
Why are Riyan Parag and Mohammed Shami not playing in today’s game?
The absence of Rajasthan’s in-form batsman Parag was a big blow for the home fans. Young skipper Yashasvi Jaiswal, who took a leading role during the innings, shed light on Parag’s sudden release. “He was a bit injured and will recover soon, I hope. So he doesn’t play this game“, Jaiswal revealed. Parag, an RR mid-level pillar, is currently being managed cautiously to avoid further aggravating the concern. Jaiswal also noted that this veteran all-rounder. Ravindra Jadeja sitting outside while recovering from minor niggles. To fill these gaps, RR announced three major changes Sandeep Sharma, Sushant Mishraand Juan-dre Pretorius.
On the other side of the camp, Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh pants announced a heavily modified bowling attack, most notably without the services of veteran Indian paceman Shami. While Pant did not delve into specific medical details about Shami, he did confirm that the heart rate is rested for this encounter, making way for the left-arm seamer. Mohsen Khan. In addition, LSG had to deal with the departure of the South African star Aiden MarkramFlying home for personal reasons, he opened the door Ayush Badoni return to game eleven.
XI and Impact Reserve players of both teams are playing
Despite injuries and tactical turmoil, both franchises have managed to field highly competitive squads, relying heavily on their deep squads and strategic bench strength.
Lucknow Super Giants (XI Game): 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.
Effect Substitutes: Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Himmat Singh, Arshin Kulkarni.
Rajasthan Royals (XI Game): 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.
Effect Substitutes: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yudhvir Singh, Aman Rao Perala, Ravi BishnoiRian Parag.
Interestingly, despite a hamstring injury, Parag has been named among Rajasthan’s Batting Substitutes. That suggests his injury may not be severe enough to completely rule him out, and leaves a small window for him to bat if the Royals face a dire emergency in the second innings.
Also READ: IPL 2026: Playoff qualifying scenarios explained as the race for the final spot heats up
