Legendary KKR all-rounder Sunil Narine will miss the match against Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing IPL 2025. Sharing the details, captain Ajinkya Rahane confirmed that Narine is unwell and will miss the game. He revealed that Moeen Ali will replace him in the playing XI.
"Sunil Narine misses out, he's not well. Moeen Ali comes in," Rahane said.
KKR won the toss and elected to bowl first in the match, which will be played at the Baraspara Cricket Ground. For Rajasthan, Wanindu Hasaranga will be making his Rajasthan debut. He has been announced as Fazalhaq Farooqi’s replacement. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson will once again be playing as an Impact sub and Riyan Parag will be leading the team in his absence. Speaking about captaining RR at his home ground, the Assam-born noted that it was a very proud moment for him.
“Very proud, very humbled to be leading a franchise like this. I started when I was 17 years old. The management has shown faith in me, it's something I can't really put in words. A lot of positives from the last game. The middle-order really stepped up. A lot of positives with the ball as well. One change. Hasaranga comes in, Farooqi steps out,” Parag said.
Meanwhile, it's unclear about KKR’s new opening combination. Venkatesh Iyer has been named at number two, behind Quinton de Kock but it won’t be surprising if Ajinkya Rahane promotes himself or they maintain the same batting order by sending Moeen to the top of the order.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Spencer Johnson, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma