Mohammed Shami was absent from the Lucknow Super Giants playing XI for their IPL 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. The pacer was seen on the ground, but he was left out of the squad for India’s one-off Test and ODI engagements versus Afghanistan, and he was not named even in the Impact Substitutions list. During the toss, LSG captain Rishabh Pant was asked about Shami’s non-selection, yet the exchange left West Indies great Ian Bishop visibly confused as Pant offered no direct clarification and instead highlighted other XI changes before the conversation moved on.
Key takeaways
- Mohammed Shami did not feature in Lucknow’s playing XI for the match against Rajasthan Royals.
- Shami was also omitted from India’s one-off Test and ODI squad for the series against Afghanistan.
- Despite being present on the field, he was not selected in the Impact Substitutions window.
- Rajasthan Royals’ stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal won the toss and chose to bowl first.
- Rajasthan made three XI changes, while Lucknow replaced Shami with Mohsin Khan and altered the batting slot with Ayush Badoni coming in for Aiden Markram.
The puzzling toss exchange
Ian Bishop attempted to pin down the reason behind Shami’s absence, but his questions were met with vague responses from Pant. As the discussion unfolded at the toss, Pant repeatedly pointed to the XI reshuffle rather than addressing Shami directly, prompting Bishop to eventually drop the line of inquiry.
The conversation, as it was relayed, went along these lines: Pant said that Shami was not playing while Mohsin was in the side, and Bishop kept probing for more clarity on the “issue” with Shami. Pant then added that the team’s other personnel changes included Aiden Markram being out and Ayush Badoni coming in, before the matter was effectively closed with Bishop indicating they could move on.
Injuries, team news and match context
Rajasthan Royals made their call with multiple fitness concerns in mind. Regular skipper Riyan Parag missed out because of a hamstring problem picked up in the previous game, while Ravindra Jadeja was also unavailable as he continued his recovery from “some niggles”.
Rajasthan responded with three alterations to their XI, bringing in Sandeep Sharma, Sushant Mishra, and Lhuan-dre Pretorious. Lucknow, meanwhile, also made a couple of changes: Mohammed Shami was replaced by Mohsin Khan, and Ayush Badoni came in for Aiden Markram.
From the points-table perspective, Rajasthan entered the contest placed fifth, while Lucknow were already eliminated from playoff contention.
Playing XIs
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dhruv Jurel (w), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Sushant Mishra, Sandeep Sharma, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja.
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Akash Maharaj Singh, Prince Yadav.
