IPL 2026: Why is Shimron Hetmyer not playing PBKS vs RR Match 40?

Punjab Kings (PBKS) are hosting Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their last home game of the season at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh in Match 40 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

The Kings are still the only unbeaten team in IPL 2026 and come off the back of a mammoth away victory against the Delhi Capitals, where they chased down 265, the highest total ever chased in T20 cricket. The Royals have lost three of their last four games and were beaten at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium by the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

PBKS vs RR: Toss Update

Riyan Parag, captain of the Rajasthan Royals, won the toss and chose to bowl first, wanting to cash in on the potential moisture in the wicket due to overhead cloud cover. Shreyas Iyer, the hosts’ skipper, wanted to bowl first as well, as the wicket has been under the covers for the last few days.

PBKS vs RR: Shanaka replaces Hetmyer; Lockie in for Bartlett

Shimron Hetmyer has been in poor form in IPL 2026, scoring just 72 runs in seven matches at 116.13. Sri-Lankan all-rounder Dasun Shanaka, as a result, has been slotted in for the Caribbean batter. Yash Raj Punja, on the other hand, replaced Ravi Bishnoi in the lineup. Punja made his debut against KKR. For PBKS, Shashank Singh misses out, with Suryansh Shedge playing in his place. Lockie Ferguson, meanwhile, has replaced Xavier Bartlett in the playing combination.

PBKS vs RR: What did the captains say?

Riyan Parag, RR captain,

“We are going to bowl first. Looks like a pretty good wicket. But there was a bit of cloud cover and a bit of shower as well. Little bit of moisture in the start. We are trying to strike that to get some early wickets. Hopefully chase it down.

“Two changes, Hetmyer sits out, Dasun Shanaka comes in. Ravi Bishnoi goes out, Yash Punja comes in. It is very hard to practice that but everyone’s played a lot of cricket and you have to really keep your nerve in the pressure situation and test your character.”

Shreyas Iyer, PBKS captain, 

“We would have loved to bowl first as well. I asked one of my team members. The wicket was covered for the last few days because of the weather. All of us are proactive, irrespective of whether we are bowling first or second. We have one forced change. Suryansh comes in place of Shashank. Also, Lockie comes in place of Xavier. 

“All the individuals have goals to achieve. We know what we have to do to achieve those goals. It’s important to keep the momentum. On behalf of the whole team, I want to express my condolences to Azmat and his family for the loss. We are with him during this hard time.”

PBKS vs RR: Playing XIs

Punjab Kings (PBKS):

Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Impact Substitutes: Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Xavier Bartlett, Harpreet Brar, Musheer Khan

Rajathan Royals (RR):

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (capt), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Brijesh Sharma, Nandre Burger, Yash Raj Punja

Impact Substitutes: Ravi Bishnoi, Ravi Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Shimron Hetmyer