IPL 2026, PBKS vs RR Today Match: Rajasthan Royals have left out Shimron Hetmyer from their playing XI for the Indian Premier League 2026 clash against Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Captain Riyan Parag confirmed at the toss that Hetmyer has been dropped as part of two changes to the side, with Dasun Shanaka coming in as his replacement.

The decision comes amid Hetmyer’s underwhelming run in the ongoing season. The West Indies batter has managed just 72 runs in seven matches, averaging 14.40 with a strike rate of 116.12, failing to make a significant impact in the middle order. RR appear to have opted for Shanaka’s all-round ability to add more balance to the lineup as they look to bounce back and strengthen their campaign against an unbeaten Punjab Kings unit. 

Toss Result

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field against Punjab Kings in match 40 of IPL 2026.

Playing XIs

Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (c), Cooper Connolly, Suryansh Shedge, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Rajasthan Royals: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja.

Impact Substitutes

Punjab Kings: Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Xavier Bartlett, Harpreet Brar, Musheer Khan.Rajasthan Royals: Ravi Bishnoi, Ravi Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Shimron Hetmyer