IPL 2026: Why is Riyan Parag not playing today’s match against Gujarat Titans?

Rajasthan Royals (RR) are without their regular captain Riyan Parag for Match 52 of the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026) against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday, May 9, at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. In his place, Yashasvi Jaiswal was handed over the leadership duties as he made his captaincy debut in the IPL.

At the toss, Jaiswal informed that Parag pulled his hamstring while fielding in the previous fixture against Delhi Capitals (DC) and hence was unavailable for the match. His injury forced Rajasthan to make two changes to their team, with Shimron Hetmyer and Yash Raj Punja coming into the side.

“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,” said Jaiswal at the toss.

Parag had a quiet outing in the season so far with 207 runs to his name from ten innings at an average of 23 and a strike rate of 143.75 with one half-century. Hetmyer has also failed to make an impact in the season so far, with just 72 runs from six innings at an average of 14.40 with a best score of 22.

On the other hand, Gujarat Titans also made one change in their team as Prasidh Krishna came back in place of Manav Suthar.

Rajasthan 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

Impact subs: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Adam Milne, Ravi Singh, Sushant Mishra, Ravi Bishnoi

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 Siraj

Impact Subs: Prasidh Krishna, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Kumar Kushagra