Why did Ravi Bishnoi & Shimron Hetmyer miss PBKS vs RR clash of IPL 2026?
Ravi Bishnoi and Shimron Hetmyer were part of RR’s previous game against SRH.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) are taking on the mighty Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Tuesday, April 28. The encounter is taking place at PBKS’ home ground- Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.
While PBKS have been unbeaten in IPL 2026 so far and take the top spot in the points table with 13 points, RR are placed in the fourth position with 10 points.
RR captain Riyan Parag won the toss and opted to field first in the clash. At the toss, he informed that they have made two changes to their playing XI. Batter Shimron Hetmyer and spinner Ravi Bishnoi are not part of the match.
Why are Ravi Bishnoi and Shimron Hetmyer not playing PBKS vs RR clash of IPL 2026?
Notably, both of them have been dropped for the encounter. Royals have replaced Bishnoi with Yash Raj Punja and Hetmyer with Dasun Shanaka. This was revealed by Parag at the toss.
Speaking about the changes in the playing XI, Parag said: “Two changes. Hetmyer sits out, Dasun Shanaka comes in. And there’s one more change. Bishnoi goes out and Yash Punja comes in. I feel the pressure situation really tests your character. And once those situations come, whoever holds their nerve gets through”.
About opting to field first, Parag added, “We’ll be bowling first. Looks like a pretty good wicket, but there was a little cloud cover and little shower as well, so a little bit of moisture in the start, so we’re trying to extract that, get a few early wickets, and yeah, hopefully chase it down”.
Hetmyer has struggled with his form so far in IPL 2026, scoring just 72 runs in seven games at an average of 14.40 and a strike rate of 116.12. Bishnoi is the second-highest wicket-taker for the side, with 11 scalps in eight games at an economy of 9.54. The right-arm spinner captured a four-wicket haul against Gujarat Titans (GT).
RR’s Playing XI vs PBKS: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja.
Why are Ravi Bishnoi and Shimron Hetmyer not part of the PBKS vs RR clash?
Ravi Bishnoi and Shimron Hetmyer have been dropped for the clash. They have been replaced by Dasun Shanaka and Yash Raj Punja respectively.
Who won the toss in PBKS vs RR clash?
Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to field first.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.