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The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections.
Ahead of the league, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will miss the services of all-rounder Sam Curran due to an injury.
Following the Englishman`s absence ahead of the tournament, head coach Kumar Sangakkara expressed disappointment.
“We are disappointed to lose a player of Sam`s calibre so close to the start of the season,” he said.
The franchise then named Sri Lanka`s Dasun Shanaka as the replacement for Curran. On the Sri Lankan`s inclusion to the squad, the head coach said that he is a quality all-rounder and helps maintain the balance of the side.
“Sam brings immense value with both bat and ball. However, we are pleased to have found an ideal replacement in Dasun Shanaka, a finisher with the bat and a quality all-rounder who helps maintain the balance of our side,” said Sangakkara.
The first match of the marquee tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
RR will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 30 at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati.
IPL 2026, Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals: Full Squads
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar.
Rajasthan Royals: Ravindra Jadeja, Sandeep Sharma, Adam Milne, Donovan Ferreira (WK), Jofra Archer, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande, Sam Curran, Nandre Burger, Riyan Parag (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Sen, Ravi Bishnoi, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sushant Mishra, Yudhvir Singh, Shubham Dubey, Vignesh Puthur, Aman Rao, Kwena Maphaka, Yash Punja, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ravi Singh (WK), Brijesh Sharma.
(With ANI Inputs)
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