Chennai Super Kings will kick off the IPL 2026 campaign against Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. MS Dhoni won’t be available for the game as he has been ruled out for the first two weeks. All eyes will be on Sanju Samson, who will be making his debut for the franchise. Samson was traded for CSK from the Rajasthan Royals (RR). He was swapped with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. Along with Samson, CSK will rest hopes on captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Matthew Short, and Shivam Dube. The team, however, will miss the services of Dewald Brevis. Matt Henry, Noor Ahmed, and Khaleel Ahmed will be some of the main bowlers of the side.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals will look up to Vaibhav Suryavanshi for brisk starts, while Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhurv Jurel, and Riyan Parag, who will also captain the side, will be the main batters. Jofra Archer, Adam Milne and Ravindra Jadeja, among others, make the Rajasthan Royals a dangerous team.
RR vs CSK Pitch Report
The surface at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium is not the best to bat on in India, and bowlers have previously dominated matches at the venue, which is evident from the average first innings score that is below the 150-run mark.
Barsapa Cricket Stadium Stats
| Matches | 6 |
| Won Batting First | 3 |
| Won Batting Second | 2 |
| No Result | 1 |
| Average First Innings Score | 146 |
| Highest Total | 199/4 |
| Highest Successful Chase | 152 |
RR vs CSK Head To Head
The two teams have shared an intense rivalry over the years, with both teams tied on head-to-head stats.
- Played:32
- CSK Won:16
- RR Won:16
RR vs CSK Probable XIs
Rajasthan Royals (RR): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Riyan Parag (C), Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Adam Milne.
Impact Player: Aman Rao Perala
Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Sanju Samson (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Jamie Overton, Anshul Kamboj, Rahul Chahar, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed.
Impact Player: Kartik Sharma
Squad
RR Squad: Riyan Parag (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ravi Bishnoi, Jofra Archer, Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Tushar Deshpande, Kwena Maphaka, Adam Milne, Dasun Shanaka, Sandeep Sharma, Nandre Burger, Kuldeep Sen, Lhuan-Dre Pretorious, Shubham Dubey, Ravi Singh, Aman Rao Perala, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punia, Vignesh Puthur, Brijesh Sharma.
CSK Squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmad, Matt Henry, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Zak Foulkes, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Sarfaraz Khan, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Aman Khan, Mukesh Choudhary, Spencer Johnson, Gurjapneet Singh, Matthew Short, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Chahar.
