Who Is UAE-Born Yash Punja? RR Spinner Making His IPL Debut vs KKR

Yash Raj Punja makes his debut in IPL ? [Source: AP]

Rajasthan Royals recently faced KKR at the Eden Gardens in the 28th match of IPL 2026. In that game, they had a youngster in Yash Raj Punja who made his IPL debut.

Batting first, RR posted 155 runs on the board at the loss of 9 wickets. Despite getting a good start, the Royals couldn’t capitalise and ended up with a below-par total on a tricky surface.

Who is Yash Raj Punja?

Meanwhile, in the second inning, the Rajasthan Royals called in debutant Yash Raj Punja as an impact player. At 19, the Karnataka leg-spinner brings an unusual advantage of height, which is around 6’6”, something you almost never see in wrist spinners.

That alone changes his bowling profile. He can extract extra bounce and steeper trajectory, making it harder for batters to line him up, especially in T20 cricket, where most leg-spinners rely more on deception than bounce.

Punja started as a net bowler for the Rajasthan Royals in 2024. He got noticed publicly by Ian Bishop, and he followed it up with a breakout Maharaja Trophy season where he picked 23 wickets in 10 games at a 12.48 average.

Hence, citing his potential, RR bought Punja for INR 30 lakhs during the IPL 2026 auction, thus paving the way for his debut.

Meanwhile, on his debut, Yash Raj Punja conceded 19 runs in his first two overs. While his start was shaky, RR will expect the youngster to grow and improve as the season moves ahead.

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Rajasthan Royals put 155 on the board

That being said, in the first inning, Rajasthan Royals had a strong start as openers Yashasvi Jaiswal had an 81-run stand before things started spiralling.

Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer wasted a lot of deliveries in the middle overs as they batted at a strike rate of around 80-85. The rest of the lower-middle order didn’t contribute much, and eventually, the Royals settled for 155/9.

Varun Chakaravarthy and Kartik Tyagi picked 3 wickets each for KKR, while veteran Sunil Narine also contributed with 2 wickets.

KKR loses the plot in the chase

However, the Rajasthan Royals recovered in the second inning. Defending a low total, Jofra Archer got the perfect start as he dismissed Tim Seifert on a golden duck. 

Captain Ajinkya Rahane also failed miserably as he walked back on a 2-ball duck. All-rounder Cameron Green added 27 runs off 13 balls but got stumped by Ravi Bishnoi.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi also played 19 balls in the middle but scored just 10 runs before Ravindra Jadeja trapped him LBW.

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Rovman Powell and Rinku Singh then stitched a stable partnership to somehow keep KKR in the hunt.

It's important to note that KKR are yet to win a single game in the IPL 2026 season, and a loss here would hurt their playoff qualification scenario massively. 

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