Why is Wanindu Hasaranga not playing today’s RR vs MI IPL 2025 match?

Rajasthan Royals (RR) leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out of their IPL 2025 match against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday, May 1. At the toss, RR’s stand-in-captain Riyan Parag confirmed that Hasaranga is missing the game due to a niggle. Left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya has replaced him in the playing XI.

Confirming two changes at the toss, Parag said (via Cricbuzz):

“Couple of changes, Hasaranga has a niggle, Kumar Kartikeya comes in, Sandy (Sandeep Sharma) bhai has broken his finger so Madhwal comes in.”

Wanindu Hasaranga’s absence comes as a huge loss for the Royals since he keeps the economy rate in check, besides crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs. The Sri Lankan spinner has bagged 10 wickets in eight games this season. The Royals had bought him for INR 5.25 crore at the mega auction last year.

On the other hand, Kumar Kartikeya has bagged two wickets in three matches this season. He will be keen to deliver in Hasaranga’s absence.

RR opt to bowl against MI in the IPL 2025 match

RR skipper Riyan Parag won the toss and elected to bowl against MI in their IPL 2025 match. Justifying his decision, the all-rounder said:

“We’ll bowl first. We might see some dew later. Usually, the wicket settles down a little later at night. Want to exploit that.”

The Royals will be keen to continue their good form, hammering Gujarat Titans (GT) by eight wickets in their last match in Jaipur, thanks to a record-breaking century from 14-year-old Vaibhav Suyavanshi.

The Jaipur-based franchise has three wins in 10 games and can’t afford to lose a single game to stay alive in the race to the playoffs. As a result, they are eighth in the points table, only above SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians (MI).

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai fielded an unchanged XI amid their five-match winning streak. With six victories in 10 games, MI are third in the IPL 2025 points table.

In their previous meeting, Rajasthan thrashed Mumbai by nine wickets at the same venue.

Follow the RR vs MI IPL 2025 live score and updates here.