Yashasvi Jaiswal officially leads Rajasthan Royals for the first time in IPL 2026 after regular skipper Riyan Parag was ruled out of the crucial clash against Gujarat Titans with a hamstring injury. Jaiswal walked out to the toss in Jaipur where RR won the toss and opted to bowl first on what is expected to be another high-scoring surface at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
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Parag sustained the injury during Rajasthan Royals’ previous match against Delhi Capitals. The RR captain strained his hamstring during the game and was unable to field in the second innings, with Jaiswal stepping in to lead the side on the field for the remainder of the match. However, Saturday’s contest is the first time that Jaiswal has officially captained Rajasthan Royals since the start of the match. At the toss, Jaiswal confirmed that Parag is expected to return soon. “We are going to bowl first. I think the wicket is pretty good and we want to chase it. Riyan pulled his hamstring in the last match so I feel he will be back soon,” Jaiswal said. RR also made two changes to their playing eleven, bringing in Shimron Hetmyer and Yash Raj Punj for the important match. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill admitted that Gujarat Titans would also prefer to bowl first after losing the toss. GT made one change with Prasidh Krishna returning to the side in place of Manav Suthar. Gill also stressed the importance of sticking to the team’s strengths as the playoff race intensifies, highlighting the confidence GT has gained from winning several close games this season.Teams:Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (w), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed SirajRajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), Dhruv Jurel (w), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja
