Summary of this article
Yashasvi Jaiswal replaced Riyan Parag as Rajasthan Royals captain for match 52 of IPL 2026
Jaiswal said Parag pulled his hamstring in RR's last game
Shimron Hetmyer came in for Parag in Royals' playing XI
In a major shake-up in the Rajasthan Royals (RR) camp, Yashasvi Jaiswal replaced Riyan Parag as captain for match 52 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday (May 9). Parag is sitting out the game because he pulled his hamstring in the last game, Jaiswal said at the toss.
ALSO READ: RR Vs GT Live Score
Shimron Hetmyer has come in for Parag, and Jaiswal said he felt the regulation skipper "will be coming back soon". Leg-spinner Yash Raj Punja was also inducted in the RR playing XI.
Earlier, Parag was fined 25 per cent of his match fee by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after he was seen vaping on camera during the Royals' game against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur. The board's statement mentioned bringing the game into "disrepute" as the reason for the fine, and added that it is "also exploring other options to initiate proceedings for stringent action".
It was reported that those actions could include possible suspension, though injury has been cited by the RR team management as the cause for Parag missing Saturday's encounter. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, who hails from Assam like Parag, had earlier stated that the board will take "some" action "against teams which are violating the norms" in IPL 2026.
"We are exploring some other options about how to bring the teams which are violating the norms," Saikia had said. His statement came in the backdrop of the Parag-vaping incident and RR team manager Ravinder Singh Bhinder controversially using his phone around the dugout during a match.
RR Vs GT, IPL 2026: Playing XIs
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja
