Rajasthan Royals (RR) were missing their key all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s services in the match against Delhi Capitals (DC) on May 17. Jadeja’s absence was felt in the middle overs and also when RR suffered a batting collapse, leading to a below par score. While captain Riyan Parag did not give a detailed explanation at the coin toss apart from workload management, batting coach Vikram Rathour said that the team management wanted to give the all-rounder another game to recover from a niggle in knee.
“Jaddu bhai misses out due to his load management and all of that,” Parag had said at the coin toss.
“He just had some niggle in the knee. They are just trying to manage that. They felt that if we give him one more game break, it will be good for him. That was the reason he was rested today,” Rathour said in the post-match presentation.
Jadeja’s replacement dismissed cheaply
In Jadeja's absence, RR had another batter in their lineup. Ravi Singh was named in the playing eleven ahead of Dasun Shanaka and made his IPL debut. The young left-handed batter departed off the second ball after hitting Mitchell Starc for a boundary, contributing to the collapse.
Ferreira over Shanaka costs RR
Shanaka was brought in as an impact player contributing with an 8-ball 10, followed by 29/1 in three overs. Shanaka was not given the 18th over despite him taking the wicket of KL Rahul. Instead, Donovan Ferreira bowled against David Miller and Axar Patel, getting hit for two sixes in the 16-run over.
Jadeja to return to action
Jadeja is expected to return to action in RR’s must-win game against bottom-placed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). In their previous game, he scored an unbeaten 29-ball 43 and followed it up with an economical spell, featuring Nicholas Pooran's wicket.
Jadeja’s numbers in IPL 2026
Roped in for Rs 14 crore, Jadeja has often not completed his quota of four overs. From 11 games, he has bowled nine times, taking eight wickets at an average of 25.50. His economy rate is 7.84 runs per over. The experienced southpaw does not have a fixed batting position. From eight innings, he has 190 runs at an average of 47.50 and strike rate of 133.80.