Is Mayank Yadav playing today's RR vs LSG IPL 2025 match?

Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) pacer Mayank Yadav was not included in the playing XI for his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Saturday, April 19. He was, however, included in the list of Impact Subs, along with Ayush Badoni, Shahbaz Ahmed, Matthew Breetzke and Himmat Singh.

Yadav, who was retained by LSG for ₹11 crore ahead of the mega auction in November 2024, linked up with the Rishabh Pant-led franchise on Wednesday, April 16, after recovering from a lower back stress fracture.

Head coach Justin Langer had said that the pacer had put in the hard yards at BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) and his return was great for LSG, the IPL as well as Indian cricket.

"What I do know is he's working very hard at the NCA, and I saw some video of him bowling yesterday [Thursday] and he was bowling at about 90 to 95%. So Mayank's up and running, which is really great for Indian cricket, for IPL. We saw the impact he had last year. I don't think there's been a bowler in India who's bowled faster than Mayank Yadav. That's why there's so much talk about him," Langer said at the post-match press conference after the loss to Chennai Super Kings on Monday, April 14.

Yadav's numbers in his debut season in 2024 may not seem impressive (seven wickets in four matches), but his ability to bowl at high pace consistently caught the attention of many. The 22-year-old was fast-tracked into the Indian team and made his T20I debut against Bangladesh at Gwalior in October 2024.

RR, LSG look to get back to winning ways

Both the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered defeats in their previous encounters. The former lost to Delhi Capitals in a Super Over in Delhi, while the latter lost to Chennai Super Kings at home.

RR come into the match in eighth place on the points table, with four points in seven matches. LSG are in fifth place with eight points in seven matches.

As far as the toss is concerned, Rishabh Pant won the toss and chose to bat first in Jaipur.