RR vs LSG: Why Yashasvi Jaiswal is leading Rajasthan Royals instead of Riyan Parag in IPL 2026? Stand-in-captain reveals

Rajasthan Royals were forced to leave out captain Riyan Parag out of 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 on Tuesday, instead of Parag.

The Rajasthan Royals captain suffered a hamstring injury against Delhi Capitals on May 1, forcing Parag to miss the game against Gujarat Titans on May 9. However, having recovered from the injury, Parag returned to the Rajasthan Royals playing XI against Delhi Capitals on May 17.

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 too made a few changes with Mohammed Shami making way for Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni replaced Aiden Markram. Rajasthan Royals are placed fifth in the points table and badly need a win to remain in contention for 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 all are speaking to everyone and I think the mindset and attitude what 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.

RR vs LSG playing XIs

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

Catch the live updates from IPL 2026 with the complete IPL 2026 Schedule and the IPL 2026 Points Table. Also, know who are currently leading the charts in IPL 2026 Orange Cap and IPL 2026 Purple Cap.