Why is Sunil Narine not playing against RR?

The IPL 2025 season is heating up as the Rajasthan Royals (RR) are playing the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 26 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, Assam. Both sides will be hoping to recover from a weak start in this high-stakes encounter, which is the sixth group-stage game of the current season. 

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane made an important decision by winning the toss and opting to bowl first, setting up an exciting chase under the lights at Barsapara Stadium. The KKR captain also revealed at the toss that the West Indian all-rounder will not be playing in the game. Moeen Ali will be making his debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders today, which is the only change to the starting lineup. "Sunil Narine misses out; he's not well. Moeen Ali comes in," he said.

Over the years, Sunil Narine has been a vital member of the KKR squad, opening the batting for the team in addition to being a spinner. Last week's first match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru saw Narine score 44 runs off of 26 balls, take one wicket and concede 27 runs in his four overs. 

In Moeen Ali's debut for the Knight Riders today, the England all-rounder has been given the opportunity by KKR. In the IPL, the 37-year-old has played for the Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In 67 games, he has amassed 1162 runs and claimed 35 wickets. Sunil Narine's quick recovery and return to the squad for the forthcoming games would be hoped for by KKR supporters.

Poor start to the season

In the opening game of the 2025 Indian Premier League, defending champions KKR lost badly to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by 7 wickets at their home field of Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Captain Ajinkya Rahane's half-century helped them get off to a strong start. They only managed to score 174, though, after a late collapse. The chase was completed by RCB in just 16.2 overs.