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Rajasthan Royals (RR)’s dream of reaching the IPL 2026 final was shattered with a crushing seven-wicket defeat against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 2 in New Chandigarh on May 29. However, after the defeat, Sanjay Manjrekar has now questioned RR’s surprising Ravindra Jadeja call.
Manjrekar was not happy with how Rajasthan Royals handled Jadeja’s injury situation during the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 clash against Gujarat Titans. The vocal commentator openly questioned RR’s decision and felt that they could have managed things differently.
Actually, Ravindra Jadeja was promoted to number four as the Rajasthan Royals team was looking for an experienced batsman to stabilize the innings. It looked like it would be a big score before the all-rounder was hit on the arm while facing Gujarat Titans fast bowler Jason Holder in the eighth over.
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The blow looked serious, especially as the left-hander was already struggling with tennis elbow. After receiving treatment on the field, Jadeja was unable to play further and had to retire hurt. At that time, the veteran star had scored a quickfire 34 off just 19 balls and was helping Rajasthan build momentum after an early batting collapse.
Ravindra Jadeja recalled despite elbow problem
However, after the dismissal of Jofra Archer later in the innings, Jadeja surprisingly returned to bat. His left elbow was heavily bandaged, but he decided to continue despite the discomfort and pain. The experienced all-rounder showed great determination and remained in the middle till the end.
Jadeja played an unbeaten inning of 45 runs off 35 balls and helped Rajasthan post a strong score of 214/8. He provided good support to teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who played a brilliant inning of 96 runs off 47 balls against Gujarat Titans.
Despite those efforts, Gujarat Titans made the chase look easy and reached the target with seven wickets to spare, ending Rajasthan’s IPL 2024 campaign, thanks to centurion Shubman Gill.
Sanjay Manjrekar criticizes RR’s batting order
After the match, Sanjay Manjrekar criticized RR’s tactical decisions in the knockout match against GT. The former Indian batsman questioned why the team decided to send Jadeja back to bat when he had already retired hurt due to an elbow problem.
After the innings, Manjrekar was also surprised by Rajasthan’s batting order. RR sent Joffra Archer to bat ahead of Donovan Ferreira. Archer had earlier given one of the most important cameos of Rajasthan Royals’ season when he scored 32 runs in 15 balls against Mumbai Indians to help the team qualify for the playoffs.
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But this time he could score only 7 runs on 4 balls. However, Ferreira, sent in to bat at number eight, made an immediate impact. The South African batsman played a fearless inning of 38 not out in just 11 balls, hitting four sixes in the final over to give RR a strong finish against GT in the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 on Friday.
Manjrekar questions RR’s Ravindra Jadeja’s decision
His explosive innings left many wondering whether RR could have scored even more had he been sent in earlier, and Manjrekar feels he may have made a costly mistake against GT. He posted,
Still haven’t recovered from RR’s poor decision of bringing Jadeja back into the side after he retired hurt and then came Jofra Archer ahead of Donovan Ferreira.
– Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) May 30, 2026
