Nathan Coulter-Nile IPL stats: Why is Ishan Kishan not playing today’s IPL 2021 match vs Rajasthan Royals?

Ishan Kishan not playing today vs RR: The defending champions have made a solitary change to their Playing XI for this match.

During the 24th match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals in Delhi, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and chose to field.

“We are going to field first. The pitch looks alright, looks a good pitch, better than Chennai. Looking to chase the total. This looks much better. We want to play fearless cricket, hopefully the guys take the responsibility.

“You got to pick your best XI and find the right balance as well. I think looking at the conditions and opposition we have picked our best XI,” Sharma told Star Sports at the toss.

Much like Sharma, Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson also laid emphasis on “playing better” as his teammates haven’t played to the best of their abilities as of now.

“We would have liked to bowl first. We can see some grass, but I think it’s good for batting and bowling. We need to bat better. We play every game in a different perspective. Captaincy is getting better and better, first game was tough. Really enjoying this role,” Samson told Star Sports at the toss.

Why is Ishan Kishan not playing vs Rajasthan Royals?

The only change which has been made for both the teams is that Mumbai have benched batsman Ishan Kishan for fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile. The same means that MI have once again included four overseas players to their Playing XI.

While Sharma didn’t provide the exact reason behind dropping Kishan, the left-hand batsman has been in dismal form this season. In five innings, Kishan’s 73 runs have come at an average and strike rate of 14.60 and 82.95 respectively.

Coulter-Nile, who had begun his second stint at Mumbai last season, is playing his first match this season. In 33 IPL matches, Coulter-Nile has picked 41 wickets at an average of 22.56, an economy rate of 7.72 and a strike rate of 17.54.