Why Yashasvi Jaiswal Is Leading Rajasthan Royals In Place Of Riyan Parag Against Gujarat Titans

Yashasvi Jaiswal is leading Rajasthan Royals in the side's IPL 2026 game against Gujarat Titans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, on Saturday. Jaiswal has come in as a stand-in captain for RR as regular skipper Riyan Parag misses out on the game after pulling his hamstring. Ahead of the season, Parag was appointed full-time captain of RR as Sanju Samson was traded to Chennai Super Kings in an exchange deal involving Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. While Jadeja has been playing for RR this season, Curran was ruled out of the edition due to injury.

"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. These are the two guys who are coming in. I'm really excited, looking forward to the game," said Yashasvi Jaiswal after winning the toss.

Meanwhille, GT captain Shubman Gill said, "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 belief in, and if something is going well for you, having the belief to be able to execute."

When asked about a score GT would aim for, Gill said, "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 par score to give that extra cushion to the bowlers."

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Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket Rajasthan Royals Gujarat Titans IPL 2026 Yashasvi Jaiswal Riyan Parag