In the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20, Rajasthan Royals have announced that Riyan Parag will lead the team for the first three matches – against Sunrisers Hyderabad on the 23rd of March, Kolkata Knight Riders on the 26th of March and Chennai Super Kings on the 30th of March. Sanju Samson will return as captain once fully fit.

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians will also have a new captain in their opening clash as Suryakumar Yadav will lead the squad against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. The franchise made the announcement as regular skipper Hardik Pandya is unavailable for this fixture due to a one-match ban imposed on him at the end of last season due to slow over rate. Jasprit Bumrah is also unavailable due to injury.

The 18th season of IPL is set to begin on Saturday with the match between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.