Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) IPL 2025 campaign has come to a premature and disappointing end following a crushing 100-run defeat to Mumbai Indians (MI) at home. The loss not only knocked them out of playoff contention but also compounded their woes with the confirmed exit of veteran pacer Sandeep Sharma due to a fractured finger.
With the defeat, RR became the second team to be officially eliminated from the tournament, following Chennai Super Kings.
RR to miss Sandeep Sharma for remainder of IPL 2025
Adding to Rajasthan’s disappointment is the unavailability of one of their key bowling figures—Sandeep Sharma. The 31-year-old seamer has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a fractured finger, sustained while attempting to stop a straight drive from Shubman Gill in their clash against Gujarat Titans (GT). Despite the injury, Sandeep completed his spell (1/33), bowling through considerable pain—an effort that might have escalated his injury.
“He showed immense bravery to continue bowling with this injury in the last match and everyone at the franchise wishes him a full and speedy recovery,” read an official release from the franchise on Thursday (May 1).
Sandeep, who picked up 9 wickets in 10 games at an economy of 9.89, played a crucial role at the death alongside Jofra Archer and was notably effective in the powerplay, where he conceded runs at under seven per over. The Royals have confirmed that their management is actively searching for a replacement, who will be announced shortly.
Sandeep Sharma IPL stats
| Year | Mat | W | Best | Avg | S/R | E/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 4 | 8 | 3/21 | 14.88 | 12.00 | 7.44 |
| 2014 | 11 | 18 | 3/15 | 19.67 | 13.39 | 8.81 |
| 2015 | 14 | 13 | 4/25 | 26.92 | 23.08 | 7.00 |
| 2016 | 14 | 15 | 2/11 | 24.40 | 20.00 | 7.32 |
| 2017 | 13 | 17 | 4/20 | 23.41 | 16.94 | 8.29 |
| 2018 | 12 | 12 | 2/17 | 27.75 | 22.00 | 7.57 |
| 2019 | 11 | 12 | 3/19 | 29.33 | 21.33 | 8.25 |
| 2020 | 13 | 14 | 3/34 | 26.71 | 22.29 | 7.19 |
| 2021 | 7 | 3 | 1/20 | 67.67 | 47.00 | 8.64 |
| 2022 | 5 | 2 | 1/18 | 76.50 | 60.00 | 7.65 |
| 2023 | 12 | 10 | 2/25 | 39.60 | 27.60 | 8.61 |
| 2024 | 11 | 13 | 5/18 | 23.92 | 17.54 | 8.18 |
| 2025 | 10 | 9 | 2/21 | 40.11 | 24.33 | 9.89 |
| Overall | 137 | 146 | 5/18 | 27.88 | 20.83 | 8.03 |
Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2025:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag(c), Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma (out), Yudhvir Singh Charak, Shubham Dubey, Kumar Kartikeya, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Kunal Singh Rathore, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma
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