Why Riyan Parag not playing in RR vs GT?

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Gujarat Titans (GT) face each other in the West India Derby at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur in Match 52 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday, 9 May. 

Both sides have the same number of points and are in with a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. GT, who are currently on a three-match winning streak, are just out of the top four due to their inferior net run-rate. RR, on the other hand, have lost their last two matches at their Jaipur home. 

RR vs GT: Toss Update

Rajasthan Royals’ stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal called the coin toss correctly and opted to bowl first. The left-handed batter liked the pitch on which the game is set to take place and would prefer chasing. GT captain Shubman Gill also wanted to bowl first. The top-order suggested that they will see how the pitch plays in the opening few overs before deciding on the ideal total they want to put on the board. 

RR vs GT: Riyan Parag misses out due to hamstring strain

RR’s usual captain, Riyan Parag, misses a game of the IPL for the first time this season. During the toss, Jaiswal revealed that the right-handed batter sustained a hamstring injury in the previous game, which could see him miss out on a couple of games. The 2008 champions have Shimron Hetmyer coming into the side alongside Yash Raj Punja. 

RR vs GT: What did the captains say?

Yashasvi Jaiswal, RR captain:

“We are going to bowl first. I think the wicket is pretty good and we want to chase it. Riyan pulled his hamstring last game, so I feel he’ll be coming back soon. Shimron Hetmyer comes in and Yash Raj Punja comes in. That’s the two guys who are coming in. I’m really excited, looking forward to the game.”

Shubman Gill, GT captain:

“We would have bowled first as well honestly. We have got one change. Prasidh Krishna comes back in place of Manav Suthar. I think it’s important to look back at your strengths as a batting group or as a bowling group. What are the things that has got us so much success as a team. So, there were some areas that we went back and we reflected. Most of the games that we have played have been pretty close. So, it’s all about doing that extra effort, putting that, you know, if something is going well for you, having the belief to be able to have that execution. Yeah, I mean, we’re going to see how the first couple of overs, 2-3 overs go. There’s obviously a par score and then you want to get 10-15 extra on top of the pass score to give that extra cushion to the bowlers.”

RR vs GT: Playing XIs

Gujarat Titans:

Shubman Gill (C), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (WK), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj

Rajasthan Royals:

Yashasvi Jaiswal (C), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja