IPL 2021, Rajasthan Royals Predicted XI vs RCB: Desperate Samson likely to make multiple changes

IPL 2021, RR Predicted XI vs RCB: With certain usual suspects completely misfiring, skipper Sanju Samson could make a few changes against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) are running out of time. A morale-crunching defeat against bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the previous game has seriously hurt their chances of making the playoffs. Unfortunately, they will be up against a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side in their next game, their toughest challenge yet in IPL 2021 phase II. Now, they are required to win all their remaining games convincingly and hope for certain scenarios to work in their favour. The latter is not in their control but the former is and it's high time for the inaugural champions to pull their socks up. With certain usual suspects completely misfiring, skipper Sanju Samson could make a few changes.

Desperate Samson likely to make multiple changes (ANI)

Here's a look at our RR's Predicted XI against RCB:

1) Evin Lewis: The big-hitting West Indies batsman scored a bombastic 35 off 21 on his RR debut. After missing the second game, he failed to fire in the third. But going by his form in the build-up to his tournament, Samson is likely to continue placing his trust in him.

2) Yashasvi Jaiswal: A 49 in the first game and a 36 in the last, Jaiswal has put in good enough performances to keep his place in the opening slot for the rest of the tournament

3) Sanju Samson (C/WK): After an unbeaten 70 off 53 balls against DC, Samson smashed a magnificent 82 against SRH. While his return to form seems to be the only promising thing in the batting line-up currently, other batters need to support him better.

4) Mahipal Lomror: Lomror's explosive 43 against Punjab took everyone by surprise. Even though he could only manage 19 in the next game followed by a 28-ball 29 against SRH, he is one of the few reliable RR batters currently.

5) Glenn Phillips: The first change that Samson could make would be to bring in Glenn Phillips in place of Liam Livingstone. The Englishman holds a high reputation in the world T20 cricket currently but his uninspiring results with the bat in the last three matches have only hurt RR. It's high for RR to include Phillips, who is equally explosive.

6) Riyan Parag: He's yet to live up to his potential, is Parag. But Dubai has been a happy hunting ground for him. IPL is a tournament that goes by quickly and teams cannot afford to give one player too many chances. If Parag doesn't fire on Monday, he could be made to sit out for the remainder of RR's matches.

6) Chris Morris: The South African all-rounder was of the best players for the franchise in the first phase of the tournament. Even though he hasn't quite fired in the second half, Samson is likely to replace him as he is a wicket-taker and a batter who can hit a few long balls.

7) Rahul Tewatia: Tewatia has only bagged one wicket in the last three matches and has completely failed with the bat. This could be his last chance this season.

8) Shreyas Gopal: The second change for RR would be to replace an out-of-form Riyan Parag with Shreyas Gopal. IPL is a tournament that goes by very quickly and form matters more than reputation. Parag has the potential but just hasn't gotten going so far in the UAE. On the other hand, Gopal is a genuine leg-spinner and RR need a wicket-taking bowler.

9) Kartik Tyagi/Jaydev Unadkat: RR's last-over hero against PBKS missed the previous game due to a niggle and his replacement Jaydev Unadkat bowled 2 overs for 0/20. If Tyagi is fit, he walks right in Unadkat's stead.

10) Mustafizur Rahman: He did not concede a single boundary in his four-over spell of 2/22 and returned with figures of 1/26 in his 3.3 overs. He is currently one of the best performers in the team.

11) Chetan Sakariya: The Gujarat left-arm pacer has bagged two wickets in the last three games. He went for a few runs in the last game but he continues to remain a very valuable asset of the RR squad.

RR's Predicted XI vs RCB: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C/WK), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Phillips, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi/Jaydev Unadkar, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya