Why is Sunil Narine not playing today’s RR vs KKR IPL 2025 match?

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star all-rounder Sunil Narine has failed to make it to the playing XI in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 contest against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday, March 26. The Knight Riders’ skipper, Ajinkya Rahane, confirmed that the West Indies legend was ill. Moeen Ali has replaced him in the KKR playing XI.

At the toss, Rahane said (via Cricbuzz):

“Sunil Narine misses out, he's not well. Moeen Ali comes in.”

Narine’s absence comes as a setback for KKR. The southpaw smashed a quickfire 44 runs off 26 balls at a strike rate of 169.23, including three maximums and five boundaries in their last match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He also finished with 1/27 in his four overs. Narine, who has played 178 games for the Knight Riders, was retained for INR 12 crore. The 36-year-old amassed 488 runs and scalped 17 wickets in 15 matches as KKR won their third IPL trophy last year.

Moeen Ali will look to fill in Narine’s shoes. The English all-rounder has 1162 runs and 35 wickets in 67 IPL matches. He, however, managed just 128 runs and bagged two wickets in eight games last season.

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Ajinkya Rahane-led KKR opt to bowl against RR in IPL 2025 match

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and chose to bowl against RR in the IPL 2025 match. The 36-year-old pointed out the dew factor at the venue as the reason behind his decision. He said during the toss:

“We'll look to bowl first. The wicket looks really good. If we bowl first, we'll get an idea how this wicket is. Dew factor is huge here.”

Rahane further backed the defending champions to bounce back after losing their opening game to RCB:

“It's about staying positive, this format is all about being fearless, playing with intent. We played very good cricket, T20 is all about giving your best each and every day. We are looking forward to this game. We learnt a lot from the last game. We want to stay in the moment.”

Meanwhile, RR’s stand-in-captain Riyan Parag confirmed that the Royals also made a solitary change as Sri Lanka ace spinner Wanindu Hasaranga replaced Fazalhaq Farooqi in the playing XI. Like KKR, the Royals lost their opening game, which came against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Follow the RR vs KKR IPL 2025 live score and updates here.