Is Wanindu Hasaranga playing today's RR vs KKR IPL 2025 match?
Sri Lanka all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga is set to play his first game for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The 27-year-old was named in the team's playing XI for their match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday, March 26.
Hasaranga was benched for RR's opening encounter with SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. They suffered a 44-run defeat while chasing a daunting 287-run target.
The Rajasthan-based franchise signed Hasaranga at ₹5.25 crore at the IPL 2025 auction. The Sri Lankan star has made a name for himself with his crafty leg spin bowling in white-ball cricket. He has also established himself as a handy batting option by playing some impactful cameos down the order.
Wanindu Hasaranga has picked up 35 wickets from 26 IPL matches at an economy rate of 8.13. His best season so far came in 2022. Playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), he finished as the second-highest wicket-taker of the season, claiming 26 scalps across 16 outings.
Wanindu Hasaranga replaced Fazalhaq Farooqi in RR's playing XI for IPL 2025 match against KKR
Rajasthan added an extra spin-bowling option to their lineup by replacing Afghanistan's left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi with Wanindu Hasaranga. Farooqi registered dismal figures of 3-0-49-0 in the side's opening contest.
KKR won the toss and chose to field first in Guwahati. Speaking at the toss, RR's stand-in captain Riyan Parag expressed his delight at being given the opportunity to lead the team. He said:
"Very proud and humble to be leading a franchise I started at when I was 17 years old. The faith shown in me is something I can't put up in words. Lot of positives, middle order really stepped up (last game). Lot of positives with the ball. Looking for a good result here. Just one change from the last game - Hasaranga comes in, Farooqi steps out."
Here are the two playing XIs:
KKR: Quinton de Kock(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Spencer Johnson, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Impact subs: Anrich Nortje, Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Luvnith Sisodia.
RR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag(c), Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma.
Impact subs: Kunal Singh Rathore, Shubham Dubey, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Kwena Maphaka.