IPL 2025: Injured Sandeep Sharma to miss remainder of tournament

Sandeep Sharma. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)

Rajasthan Royals (RR) will miss the services of for the remainder of IPL 2025. The right-arm pacer fractured his finger during RR's clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Monday, April 28, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

The incident happened in the first innings when Sandeep tried to stop a shot from Shubman Gill while bowling to the GT skipper. The team's physio rushed into the middle to check on the 31-year-old. In a commendable show of grit and determination, Sandeep bowled eight more deliveries to finish his spell of four overs.

The experienced speedster missed Rajasthan's most recent clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Jaipur on Thursday. The inaugural champions lost the encounter by a whopping 100 runs to become the second team to get eliminated from the race to the playoffs after the Chennai Super Kings.

In the game against Mumbai, Sandeep was replaced by Akash Madhwal, who conceded 39 runs in his four overs without picking up a wicket. Overall, Sandeep took nine wickets from 10 games at an average of 40.11 and a strike rate of 24.33 this season. He conceded runs at an economy rate of 9.89.

MI end Rajasthan's hopes of reaching playoffs

Rajasthan registered a morale-boosting win against Gujarat Titans on the back of Vaibhav Suryavanshi's record-shattering century. The 14-year-old took some renowned international bowlers like Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, and Ishant Sharma to the cleaners. However, the team could not build on that performance as they were outclassed by MI in their following clash.

Rajasthan have only managed three wins and lost eight games out of the 11 that they have played so far. They can only finish with a maximum of 12 points, which will not be sufficient for qualification.

RR's remaining games are against Kolkata Knight Riders (May 4), Chennai Super Kings (May 12), and Punjab Kings (May 16). Meanwhile, RR's primary captain Sanju Samson continues to be on the bench, nursing a side strain injury, with Riyan Parag leading the team.