Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Dasun Shanaka has confirmed that RR skipper Riyan Parag and veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will play the IPL 2026 Eliminator on Wednesday, even if they were struggling through injury.
Both Parag and Jadeja have missed multiple matches in the tournament owing to their injuries. Jadeja's injury concerns also kept him out of India's squad for the one-off Test and three-match ODI series against Afghanistan next month.
RR to play Eliminator vs SRH
After finishing fourth on the IPL 2026 points table, the Rajasthan Royals will face the third-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator on Wednesday. The match will be held at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur.
The loser of this clash will have to say goodbye to their IPL 2026 title hopes, while the winner will live to see another day. The winner of the Eliminator will face the Gujarat Titans at the same stadium two days later in Qualifier 2.
The winner of Qualifier 2 will then face the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 31.
Riyan Parag's men finished fourth on the points table with 16 points from their 14 matches, while SRH had 18 points. RR won each of their first four matches before crashing to 6 defeats in the next 8 matches. Eventually, they scraped through into the top four with wins in their last two matches.
"They have some niggles, but they will play" - Shanaka
Dasun Shanaka spoke at the press conference on the eve of the match and provided an important update about Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja.
“They had some niggles, but they will be fine, hopefully they will be fine," he said.
During the same interaction, Shanaka was all praises for Riyan Parag and the youngster's captaincy. Shanaka himself has been the captain of the Sri Lanka national team.
"Riyan is a young captain. He is learning as well. He has done a wonderful job as a captain this year. Many people criticise him, but I feel he is a great leader in the making, both for RR and Team India,” Shanaka said.
Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja in IPL 2026
Both Parag and Jadeja have been mostly blowing hot and cold throughout the season. Neither of them has exactly set the tournament on fire, but they have made small, meaningful contributions.
With the bat, Riyan Parag has 272 runs in 12 matches at an average of 25 and a strike rate of 183. He also has two half-centuries. The RR skipper has brought himself on to bowl occasionally and has taken 2 wickets at an economy rate of 9.50.
Ravindra Jadeja, too, has been revelling in making the most of his limited opportunities at RR. Jadeja has been used as a floater with the bat, sometimes to save a collapse, and at other times to make a quick impact at the death.
Overall, he has 209 runs at an average of 52.25, and a strike rate of 137 with a high score of 45. With the ball, he has taken 8 wickets at an average of 28.50 and an economy of 8.14.
Also Read: ‘Not fit to play’: Riyan Parag makes shocking admission after RR's IPL 2026 Playoffs qualification
