IPL 2025: Rajasthan Royals pacer ruled out of tournament due to finger injury

Rajasthan Royals faced a setback both on and off the field as fast bowler Sandeep Sharma was ruled out of the rest of IPL 2025 with a fractured finger. The franchise confirmed the news on May 1.

The injury occurred during the Royals’ home match against Gujarat Titans, where Sandeep hurt his finger while trying to stop a straight drive from Shubman Gill off his own bowling. Despite being in pain, he bravely finished the last eight balls of his spell, showing great courage. The team praised his fighting spirit and wished him a quick recovery.

Before the injury, Sandeep had been a key performer for Rajasthan, taking nine wickets in 10 matches with an economy rate of 9.89. He was replaced by Akash Madhwal in the next game against Mumbai Indians.

Rajasthan Royals also confirmed that they are working on naming a replacement for Sandeep, which will be announced soon.

On the same day, the Royals were knocked out of the IPL 2025 playoffs race after a heavy 100-run defeat to Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Batting first, Mumbai posted a huge total of 217 for 2, led by a 116-run opening partnership between Rohit Sharma (53 off 36) and Ryan Rickelton (61 off 38). Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav added a powerful unbeaten 94-run stand, with both scoring 48 not out from 23 balls.

In reply, Rajasthan Royals collapsed for just 117 runs in 16.1 overs. Jofra Archer was the top scorer with 30, while other batters including Riyan Parag (16), Shubham Dubey (15), Yashasvi Jaiswal (13), and Dhruv Jurel (11) made small contributions. The rest of the lineup failed to reach double figures.

With the defeat, Rajasthan remained in eighth place with just six points from 11 matches. They became the second team, after Chennai Super Kings, to be officially eliminated from IPL 2025.