IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals predicted playing XI against Punjab Kings

The 32^nd match of the Indian Premier League 2021 will take place between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Things are not good for RR as they enter the 2^nd leg in the UAE as they will moving up without the services of some star players like Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, and Jos Buttler.

They are currently placed at 5^th position on the points table and if they wish to take the momentum on their end, they will have to pull up their socks right from the first game. Under the captaincy of new skipper Sanju Samson, it remains to be seen how will use his men to churn the best possible result in their opening fixtures in the UAE. Let’s take a look at-

Predicted Playing XI of Rajasthan Royals against Punjab Kings

Openers (Liam Livingstone and Yashasvi Jaiswal)

Young batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal and England’s new sensation Liam Livingstone will most probably take up the charge for the Royals’ opening order. Though Jaiswal is yet to shine for RR in the manner he is expected to, he is being groomed well by the franchise and would be expected to chip in with few runs at the start.

Talking about Livingstone, he has marked his debut across ODI and T20I squads of England this year only and has been shining since then. In his ODI debut against India in March 2021, he averaged 63 across the series, and being the new member of the RR team, they will be expecting him to replicate his wonders here.

Middle Order (Sanju Samson, David Miller, and Riyan Parag)

The middle-order off RR will see the likes of Samson, Miller, and young Paraga most likely. While Samson is leading the side, he is expected to contribute majorly with the bat and if he is able to do that in the middle, things will ease out for RR.

It was only in 2020 that Miller was roped in by the RR franchise after being released by PBKS (then KXIP). However, he didn’t get his rightful chance in the last season but is highly expected to play along this time around. On the other hand, young Parag will also be expected to contribute with his quickfire cameos if not for lengthy knock.

All-rounders (Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, and Rahul Tewatia)

Pace all-rounders are mostly in demand both in national teams or franchise cricket but Dube has not been able to stand upright on his reputation and will be expected to come up well this time. RR’s Chris Morris who became the costliest pick ever in the T20 league ahead of the IPL 2021 auction would have a lot of hopes on his shoulders both with bat and ball ahead of their opening game in the UAE.

Talking about Tewatia, nobody can forget how he hit Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over in IPL 2020 and he has shown on various occasions that he can get crucial breakthroughs for the team too. He will be expected to perform on the same lines.

Bowlers (Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, and Tabraiz Shamsi)

The experienced pacer of RR Jaydev Unadkat is expected to come up with some exclusive spells this time when he already stated that he was been working on some technicalities ahead of the UAE leg. Young man Sakariya impressed people in his debut season and did well on the Sri Lanka tour as well and will most likely play with RR in their XI.

On the other hand, South African great Shamsi was roped in by RR midway as a replacement for Andrew Tye, and keeping in mind his potentials for the spin attack, he can be of the best use on the pitches of the UAE.