Sanju Samson is unlikely to return to action in RR’s tie against KKR on Sunday. Riyan Parag and co. became the second side to be eliminated from IPL 2025 playoffs race earlier this week. RR will be looking to make just one change to their playing XI and will be playing for pride against a fidgety KKR.
RR predicted playing XI vs KKR
| Position | Player | Role |
| 1. | Yashasvi Jaiswal | Batter |
| 2. | Vaibhav Suryavanshi | Batter |
| 3. | Nitish Rana | Batter |
| 4. | Riyan Parag (C) | Batter |
| 5. | Dhruv Jurel (WK) | Batter |
| 6. | Shimron Hetmyer | Batter |
| 7. | Wanindu Hasaranga | All-rounder |
| 8. | Maheesh Theekshana | Bowler |
| 9. | Jofra Archer | Bowler |
| 10. | Kumar Karthikeya | Bowler |
| 11. | Akash Madhwal | Bowler |
RR won’t risk Samson
With RR already eliminated from the tournament, the team is unlikely to risk playing Samson. The keeper-batter, who suffered a side strain earlier, is yet to completely recover. As a result, RR will stick with the opening combo of Jaiswal-Suryavanshi.
14-year-old Vaibhav departed for a 2-ball duck against MI after scoring a whirlwind century. He will be looking to put that episode behind when he faces KKR bowlers.
The onus will once again be on two of RR’s expensive retentions – Jurel and Hetmyer. While the keeper-batter has somewhat shown consistency in IPL 2025, Hetmyer has absolutely failed to fire in this season. RR will rely on the duo to finish off the innings for them in a big fashion.
RR sans Sandeep Sharma look weak
Sandeep was arguably RR’s best Indian bowler in IPL 2025. Unfortunately, a fracture has ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament. In place of Sharma, RR will now turn to inexperienced Indian pacers. Jofra Archer will spearhead the pace attack. Meanwhile, the team might look to bring in Fazalhaq Farooqi as the impact player.
RR squad for IPL 2025
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag(c), Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Wanindu Hasaranga, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Tushar Deshpande, Kunal Singh Rathore, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma
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