Ishan Kishan & Riyan Parag at the toss (Source: AP Photos)
On Monday, ahead of Match 21 of IPL 2026, Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag won the toss and asked Sunrisers Hyderabad to bat first at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
This means young sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has taken the world by storm in IPL 2026, will be in action when the chase for Rajasthan Royals will be on. He will come in as an impact substitute.
SRH have made two changes in their playing XI vs RR, with Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat going out. In their places, Praful Hinge comes in, while Sakib Hussain will potentially join later, as mentioned by SRH captain Ishan Kishan.
For RR, Shimron Hetmyer and Brijesh Sharma have been left out, with IPL debutant Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Tushar Deshpande making the cut.
SRH vs RR: Story So Far In IPL 2026
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are currently placed seventh on the IPL 2026 points table, having lost three of their four matches thus far. Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, sit at the top of the chart, with 100% winning record after their four outings in this year’s competition.
Ishan Kishan’s SRH had back-to-back defeats before coming to this fixture, against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). On the other hand, Riyan Parag-led RR’s latest victories came against five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
SRH Vs RR Playing XIs
SRH Playing XI Vs RR
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (c/wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, Eshan MalingaRR Playing XI Vs SRH
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag(c), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande
Also Read: BCCI Releases Fresh IPL 2026 Schedule; CSK, GT Impacted
SRH Vs RR Impact Subs
SRH Impact Sub: Smaran Ravichandran, Harshal Patel, Liam Livingstone, Shivam Mavi, Sakib Hussain
RR Impact Sub: Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Ravi Singh, Brijesh Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
SRH Vs RR: Quotes From Captains
RR Captain Riyan Parag: "(Decision and reasoning) We will bowl first. A new wicket for us. It is being used for the first time this season as well. So, hopefully, it will be a bit sticky at the start. We have chased well here. We fell short in 2024, hopefully not the case today.
(Team news) Brijesh (Sharma) steps out, and Tushar (Deshpande) comes in. Hettie (Shimron Hetmyer) gets a rest. Lhuan-dre Pretorius makes his debut.
(On his road to captaincy) It has been a journey. I was under Sanju (Samson) bhaiya for the longest time. And then, Sanga did really well in grooming me. He involved me in all the strategic meetings. Now I think I have taken the onus. I had to make many tough calls. But happy to be here."
Also Read: BCCI Ruthlessly Punishes RCB’s Tim David; Hardik Pandya Penalised For His Actions
SRH Captain Ishan Kishan: "[Team news] We have got two changes from the last game. Sakib and Hinge come in, and Harshal and Unadkat sit out.
[On leading the side] We have been doing well. I have been doing the captaincy since my Under-19 India days, and my domestic team as well. You always want to do more as a team.
[Does captaincy help him perform?] I think obviously, it makes a difference. You show maturity. It did help me when I was the leader of the side, and it helped me get back to the Indian side. What more could you ask for?"
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