Parag leads Rajasthan Royals into Guwahati homecoming against reshuffled Chennai Super Kings
Two teams that finished at the bottom of last season's standings get their fresh start on Monday evening, and the subplot could not be richer. Sanju Samson walks out in yellow for the first time, Ravindra Jadeja wears the pink of Rajasthan, and a 24-year-old from Guwahati gets to lead his franchise in front of friends and family.
A new-look Rajasthan under Parag
Rajasthan Royals managed just four wins in IPL 2025 and finished ninth. The off-season overhaul has been dramatic. Parag, who impressed Sangakkara enough to earn the captaincy over more experienced candidates including Jadeja, will lean on Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top and Shimron Hetmyer in the middle order. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, still only 15, adds intrigue to a batting lineup that underperformed badly last year. Ravi Bishnoi's leg spin could be the difference on a Guwahati surface that has traditionally offered something for slower bowlers in the second innings.
Chennai missing key names
CSK's rebuild carries a less optimistic tone. MS Dhoni is sidelined with a calf strain and will miss the opening fortnight. Dewald Brevis picked up a side strain in training and is also out tonight, joining Nathan Ellis on the injured list after the Australian seamer was ruled out of the entire tournament. Ruturaj Gaikwad leads a depleted squad that will ask newcomers Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma to fill gaps that were not supposed to exist this early. The one bright spot is Samson, whose T20 World Cup form earned him the Player of the Tournament award just weeks ago. He opens alongside Gaikwad.
What Guwahati's pitch offers
The Barsapara ground has earned a reputation for flat, batting-friendly surfaces. The average first-innings score here sits around 160, but winning totals tend to push closer to 180. Evening dew makes chasing easier, so expect both captains to want to bowl first at the toss. Rain is a possibility, with humid, overcast conditions forecast for the evening.
Head to head and recent form
CSK lead the all-time head-to-head 16-15 from 31 matches, but Rajasthan have dominated recently, winning eight of the last ten meetings between the sides. The first-ever IPL match between these two was in 2008, and it was the Royals who came out on top.
Both teams need to set a tone quickly. Neither can afford another slow start after the struggles of 2025, and both have new combinations to figure out. For Parag, the personal story writes itself. Whether he can match it with a result is the question Guwahati will answer tonight.
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