Why Is Mohammed Shami Not Playing For LSG Against RR? Rishabh Pant’s Answer Puzzles West Indies Great At Toss

Mohammed Shami was not part of the Lucknow Super Giants playing XI for their IPL 2026 encounter against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. The fast bowler, who was not included in India’s squad for the one-off Test and ODI series against Afghanistan, was present on the field but was not even part of the Impact Substitutions list. lsg captain Rishabh Pant was asked about Shami’s absence but his answer left West Indies legend Ian Bishop puzzled at toss. Bishop tried asking Pant about Shami’s absence but the LSG captain did not provide any clear reply. He just pointed out the changes in the playing XI and ultimately, Bishop decided to move on from the subject.

Here’s how the conversation between Rishabh Pant and Ian Bishop went –

Pant: Shami is not playing, Mohsin is playing

Bishop: What’s the issue with Shami?

Pant: Yes

Bishop: What’s the issue with Shami?

Pant: Mohsin

Bishop: No, what’s the issue with Shami?

Bishop: Who is out?

Pant: Shami is out, Mohsin is playing

Bishop: Ya, I’m asking….

Pant: Aiden is out, Badoni is in

Bishop: Okay, we can leave it there

Rajasthan Royals’ stand-in skipper Yashasvi Jaiswal won the toss and elected to bowl against Lucknow Super Giants.

RR regular skipper Riyan Parag missed out due to hamstring injury that he sustained in their previous match, while Ravindra Jadeja is also out as he is recovering from “some niggles”.

RR made three changes with Sandeep Sharma, Sushant Mishra and Lhuan-dre Pretorious coming into the playing XI.

LSG also made a couple of changes with Mohammed Shami making way for Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni replaced Aiden Markram.

RR are placed fifth in the points table, while LSG are already out of the playoff race.

Teams:

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal(c), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dhruv Jurel(w), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra ArcherSushant Mishra, Sandeep Sharma, Brijesh SharmaYash Raj Punja.

Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, Nicholas PooranRishabh Pant(w/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohsin Khan, Mayank YadavAkash Maharaj Singh, Prince Yadav.

(With PTI inputs)

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