Kuldip Yadav RR IPL 2021: S Gopal returns to Rajasthan Royals XI for must-win match vs Mumbai Indians

Kuldip Yadav RR IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals have made a couple of changes to their Playing XI in a must-win match against the defending champions.

During the 51st match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians in Sharjah, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and chose to field.

“We are going to bowl first. We have tried everything in this UAE leg, we have tried batting first, we have tried bowling first. The wicket here doesn’t change too much, so we thought let’s have a target in front of us when we bat. We know where we stand at the moment.

“Every individual knows what they need to do. We have done enough talking, we have done the preparation, it’s about coming here and executing. We need to read the situation, not to worry about what is happening elsewhere, not to worry about the table as well. If we play well, the results will take care of itself,” Sharma told Star Sports at the toss.

Desperate to stage a victory to remain alive in the tournament, Mumbai have made a couple of changes to their Playing XI by bringing in wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan and all-rounder James Neesham for wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock and all-rounder Krunal Pandya.

Kuldip Yadav RR IPL 2021

Rajasthan Royals, who are also fighting for the same spot to qualify for the playoffs, have also made a couple of changes in a bid to defeat the defending champions.

“We face different challenges in each game. We have a decent combination which can suit this wicket. Looking forward to an exciting game. We have to keep it simple, will have to trust ourselves,” Samson told Star Sports at the toss.

Talking about the changes, Samson confirmed that they’ve included spinner Shreyas Gopal and debutant pacer Kuldip Yadav for Mayank Markande and Akash Singh. Playing in the UAE leg for the first time, Gopal had failed to pick a wicket in the three matches that he’d played for RR in the first leg in India.

Yadav, on the other hand, is a 24-year old left-arm pacer who has played just one List A match in competitive cricket. It was almost a couple of years ago when Yadav had played for India Emerging Team under the captaincy of Bharat Sharath to pick bowling figures of 9-1-39-1 against Hong Kong Emerging Team.