Rajasthan Royals (RR) named injured captain Riyan Parag on the impact sub list for their IPL 2026 game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Jaipur. Here’s why.
Why Riyan Parag was listed as an Impact Player despite being injured vs LSG?
Rajasthan’s stand-in captain, Yashasvi Jaiswal confirmed during the toss that Parag would miss the game due to a hamstring issue. However, the full-time skipper’s name came up on the team list as one of the five players listed as potential impact substitutes, raising eyebrows.
The move could have been due to a recent BCCI ruling to curb players’ movements on the field during IPL games. As per Cricbuzz, the board passed on instructions to all franchises earlier this season that only the five players named on the impact sub list were allowed to carry drinks or messages on the ground or move in the area between the boundary rope and advertising boards. The rest of the players have to stay in the dugout.
"Instructions have been passed to us only recently that all substitutes cannot move around during the match. They are also not allowed to carry drinks onto the field. Only the 16 named in the team for the match can do so. In addition to that, only five outside the playing XI can move around. The others can sit in the dugout, but cannot move between the boundary line and LED advertising boards," Cricbuzz were told by multiple team sources.
Also read: RR support staff spotted using mobile phone in the dugout vs RCB - here's what the IPL protocols say
To facilitate Parag’s movement on the field and around the boundary ropes to pass on messages, Rajasthan likely named him as one of the five impact players against LSG. During their bowling innings, Parag also held a long conversation with Jaiswal during the strategic timeout as Lucknow were on course for a huge total, something he would not have been able to do if he wasn't in the impact players' list.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi came on as RR’s impact sub after Lucknow set a 221-run target for them. Mitchell Marsh was LSG’s top-scorer, falling in the 90s for a second consecutive match. Josh Inglis maintained his form as well, hitting a 29-ball 60. Rajasthan did well to restrict LSG to 220, however, after a fiery start had taken them to 127-1 in 10 overs.
Match 64, Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants
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Also read: LSG's next batter in hit winning boundary back into field of play - should they have been penalised?
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