IPL 2026: Starc Returns as RR Opt to Bat First Against DC in Jaipur

Riyan Parag, captain of Rajasthan Royals, opted to bat first, noting that the surface in Jaipur was "not the usual wicket" and appeared "a little patchy," prompting a few changes in the lineup with Ravi Bishnoi coming into the side, while Dasun Shanaka was named as an impact substitute, and Shubham Dubey retained his place in the starting XI.

"We are batting first. I don't think it's the usual Jaipur wicket. Little patchy as well. Bishi (Ravi Bishnoi) comes in. Dasun (Shanaka) sits out and is part of the impact sub. Shubham Dubey starts."

Axar Patel revealed multiple changes to the Delhi Capitals lineup, confirming the inclusion of Mitchell Starc and Pathum Nissanka while injuries and combination calls ruled out Dushmantha Chameera, Sahil, and David Miller, as he stressed the need to return to basics, stay present, and show hunger to turn their campaign around.

"I think let's keep it for later. We have 3-4 changes. Starc is playing; unfortunately, Chameera is not playing. Sahil, who played the last game, has a neck spasm, so he is not playing, and Pathum is playing. David Miller is not playing because Pathum is the 4th overseas player, so Ashutosh is playing. I would have chased if I had won the toss. Because we saw a game being played here, 230 was chased by SRH. Wicket looks good, we will look to restrict them. I think you have to go back to basics. In the tournament, every day is a new day. You have to stay in the present. What you have been doing well, you have to repeat that. Your body language is important; it is necessary to show that hunger," said the DC captain.

Playing XIs:

Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Nitish Rana, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan

Impact substitutes: Karun Nair, Abishek Porel, Vipraj Nigam, David Miller, Auqib Nabi

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi

Impact substitutes: Tushar Deshpande, Yash Punja, Ravi Singh, Adam Milne, Dasun Shanaka

- IANS