Watch: RR exchange jerseys with Paralympian Avani Lekhara in heartfelt interaction
Watch the video hereThank you for coming @AvaniLekhara #PinkPromise pic.twitter.com/MEyCl5hjjx— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 1, 2025More about Pink Promise campaign On Thursday, the Rajasthan Royals donned a special all-pink kit during their match against Hardik Pandya's Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. As part of a social initiative, INR 100 from every match ticket sold was contributed towards women-led rural development in Rajasthan.Additionally, all proceeds from the sale of the all-pink Royals jerseys will support the Royal Rajasthan Foundation (RRF), the franchise's social equity arm. In a further show of impact, for every six hit by either team during the match, the Royals and the RRF pledged to light up six homes in the Sambhar region with solar power.advertisementAs for Avani Lekhara, she successfully defended her title in the women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event at last year's Paralympics, clinching gold for the second consecutive time at the prestigious quadrennial event. In the process, she broke her own Paralympic record set at Tokyo 2020, cementing her status as India's most decorated female Paralympic athlete.As far as the Royals are concerned, they failed to qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs after MI beat them by 100 runs. Languishing at eighth in the table, RR will be playing for pride in their last three matches of the competition. Stay updated on IPL 2025 with India Today! Get match schedules, team squads, live score, and the latest IPL points table for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Plus, keep track of the top contenders for the IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap. Don't miss a moment!Must Watch
IN THIS STORY#IPL 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
30 minutes ago
- India Today
Asia Cup: Yashasvi Jaiswal's exclusion from Indian squad surprises Madan Lal
Explosive opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was left out of India's Asia Cup 2025 squad on Tuesday, August 19. The national selectors on Tuesday revealed that they had chosen Shubman Gill ahead of the left-hander. The exclusion of the opener surprised former cricketer Madan Lal, given Jaiswal's stature as a to news agency ANI right after the squad selection announcement, Madan Lal said that match-winners should not be left out of a team. India opted to bring back Shubman Gill into the T20I fold, despite the player not featuring in the format for over six you feel surprised that a player like Yashasvi Jaiswal is not in the team. Gill is a good choice as he is performing well. In the coming time, it is possible that Gill will play in all three formats... The players who make the team win a match must not be left out. We have such a good team that we may win the Asia Cup," Madan Lal told ANI. Yashasvi Jaiswal last played a T20I match for India in July 2024, against Sri Lanka. After that tour, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma were given the openers slots and performed admirably under the Gautam Gambhir-led team however, made a strong comeback in the Indian Premier League's 2025 season, scoring 559 runs at a strike rate of 160. In comparison, Shubman Gill scored 650 runs in IPL 2025, at a strike rate of 156. Gill led Gujarat Titans to the play-offs position, and formed one of the most successful pairings with Sai Agarkar and Suryakumar Yadav announced India's 15-member squad at the BCCI headquarters on Tuesday. The squad saw the exclusion of Washington Sundar, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The selectors decided to hand the vice-captaincy to Shubman Gill, taking it away from Axar Patel, who had been performing the role under captain Suryakumar squad for Asia Cup T20Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh- EndsTune InMust Watch
News18
37 minutes ago
- News18
'Hope Axar Patel Was Informed About His Removal': Ex-India Star Slams Selection
Last Updated: Mohammad Kaif hopes Axar Patel was informed about his removal as T20I vice-captain before Ajit Agarkar announced Shubman Gill for the role in Asia Cup 2025. Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif hopes all-rounder Axar Patel was informed and explained about his removal from the T20I team's vice-captaincy before chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced Shubman Gill in that role for Asia Cup 2025. Kaif said that Axar 'did no wrong' and deserved to know the reasoning behind the call. Axar was India's vice-captain the last time they played a T20I series, against England at home in February. Gill wasn't part of that team, just like most of the Test squad that had finished a Test series against Australia weeks ago. After that, he rose to the second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2025. However, with Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma having established themselves at the top of the order, Gill getting a chance in a multi-nation tournament came as a surprise. 'I hope Axar Patel was informed about his removal from vice-captaincy in advance and he didn't come to know about it from the press conference. Axar did no wrong so he deserves an explanation," Kaif posted on X. Agarkar, on his part, suggested that Axar as was only a stop-gap vice-captain. 'He was the vice-captain when we played in Sri Lanka. But after that, he was busy with Test cricket," Agarkar said. 'We obviously see some leadership qualities in him, and his form in England was what we were hoping for. He exceeded all our expectations, which is a great sign when there's so much pressure as captain." According to a report in The Indian Express, however, Gill was not a straightforward first-choice for Agarkar and Co. and it was only after a push from head coach Gautam Gambhir, who wanted to groom a future captain under Suryakumar Yadav, that the decision was taken. India's squad for 2025 Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav. Standbys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Shreyas Iyer won't be blamed for breaking TV sets, glass bottles after Asia Cup snub: Wait for how long, Ajit Agarkar?
A Rage Room is a private space where aggrieved individuals can express their frustrations in a liberatingly physical manner. Draped in protective equipment, they are presented with a curated line-up of breakable items – glass bottles, old television sets, ceramics – that they can smash to smithereens to let off steam. Had Shreyas Iyer sought out a Rage Room on Tuesday, he would have been perfectly entitled to do so. Shreyas Iyer was not picked for India's Asia Cup squad Shreyas had good cause to believe he'd be back in India's Twenty20 plans when the national selectors met in Mumbai to pick the 15-member squad for the Asia Cup, in the desert sands of the Emirates next month. With six months to India's defence of the World Cup grabbed spectacularly in Bridgetown in June last year, the process of fine-tuning preparations for the big bash begins with the continental showdown. Shreyas must have felt the volume of work he had put in, especially during IPL 2025, was sufficient for him to return to the T20I scheme of things for the first time since December 2023 (when he played the last of his 51 games), but Ajit Agarkar and his fellow wise men deigned otherwise. There were numerous compelling reasons for Shreyas' inclusion: 604 delightful runs while leading Punjab Kings to the final in this year's IPL, at an average of 50.33 and a fabulous strike-rate of 175.07, easily the best among the ten highest run-getters (Shreyas sat at No. 6). His experience and expertise against the turning ball on the same surfaces where his middle-order composure and nous were pivotal to India's success in the 50-over Champions Trophy in February-March. His recent emergence as an accomplished player of the short ball, which had troubled him no end until a year and a bit back. His ability to take the fight to the bowlers from the off, a character trait T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir are strong advocates of. His tactical awareness and leadership bucket that Suryakumar could have dipped into in a tight corner. His electric agility and excellent fielding, anywhere on the park. And yet, here is Shreyas, not only missing from the 15-man party but also omitted from the reserves. Have you hit the Rage Room yet, Shreyas? Agarkar was, inevitably, questioned about the 30-year-old's continued non-inclusion. 'It's unfortunate that he misses out,' the former India pacer replied. 'It's no fault of his, neither ours. He has to wait for his chance.' Wait for how long, Ajit? How much Iyer (pardon the terrible pun) must Shreyas go to warrant a T20 comeback? India's desire to back multi-skilled players and to strike a balance between left- and right-handed batters isn't a secret, which is perhaps why Rinku Singh (in the 15) and Riyan Parag (in the reserves) have stolen a march over Shreyas, pretty much a specialist batter like Suryakumar and his deputy Shubman Gill. Whether Rinku's left-handedness (and very occasional off-spin) and/or Parag's admittedly decent assortment of spin are worth more than Shreyas' class and quality can be up for debate but in the eyes of those that matter, they certainly seem to be for now. Even though he has been playing senior representative cricket for more than a decade, Shreyas is still only 30 and should by no means be staring at a premature end to his international T20 career. After the Asia Cup, India will play 15 guaranteed matches leading into the World Cup to be jointly staged in India and Sri Lanka in February-March. Those three five-match faceoffs – at home against South Africa and New Zealand, which will sandwich a showdown in Australia in the winter – will be used to allow the chosen ones to settle into their roles and put role clarity to optimal use. Barring the unforeseen (or the miraculous, if you are Shreyas), it is hard to see him being reintegrated with the T20 set-up in the immediate future, which is a big shame because he has so much to offer the Indian team now that he has become a more rounded all-format batter. Perhaps one of the factors that worked against Shreyas is that he is at his best at Nos. 3 and 4, currently locked in by Suryakumar and Tilak Varma (in whichever order). Hardik Pandya or Axar Patel at No. 5 are game-breakers and India have further firepower in the form of Jitesh Sharma and Shivam Dube, which means a lot of rejig would have had to be undertaken to accommodate Shreyas, no matter how impressive his recent numbers might be. The persistence with those who have done the job in the last 12 months is commendable, but when an exception has been made for Test captain Gill, it begs the question whether that same privilege couldn't have been extended to Shreyas as well.
