(Cricket news) The Rajasthan Royals, who were once in a good position to win the points table, now face the possibility of finishing outside the top two or, worse still, losing all three of their games toward the end of the competition. The Royals can finish in the top two in the league phase if they win one or two games. They now have 16 points, and four other clubs can catch up to them.

Their road to the playoffs has been made more difficult by Jos Buttler’s departure to England for the T20 World Cup. It’s also unclear if Shimron Hetmyer has fully healed from his injuries that kept him out of the Royals’ last two games. Not only did Rovman Powell not make the squad as an Impact Player against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, but he also failed to complete chases against Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The top hole is the size of a buttler; how can the Rajasthan Royals fill it? They can move Dhruv Jurel up the order or remove Tom Kohler-Cadmore from the bench. Though Kohler-Cadmore is currently a fixture in other T20 competitions across the globe, he has not yet participated in a T20 match in India. Jurel has also only once started the batting in T20 cricket, despite the fact that he frequently opens for Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy.

Kohler-Cadmore might make his IPL debut on Wednesday unless Rajasthan Royals want to use Jurel as an opener instead. Royals might pick just three overseas players – Trent Boult, Hetmyer (assuming he’s fit) and Kohler-Cadmore – and later bring in Powell or Nandre Burger as an Impact Player depending on the game situation and conditions.

Rajasthan Royals Probable XII: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Tom Kohler-Cadmore, 3 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Trent Boult, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal, 12 Nandre Burger/Rovman Powell/Keshav Maharaj.

Liam Livingstone has left the IPL to get his knee “sorted” before the T20 World Cup, but his compatriots Sam Curran and Johnny Bairstow are available to PBKS for this fixture before they also head back to the UK to link up with the England squad. Karnataka swing bowler Vidwath Kaverappa will likely get another game as an Impact Player, with PBKS likely to replace him with a specialist batter.

Punjab Kings Probable XII: 1 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Johnny Bairstow (wk), 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 Shashank Singh, 5 Jitesh Sharma, 6 Ashutosh Sharma, 7 Sam Curran (capt), 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Arshdeep Singh, 12 Vidwath Kaverappa/Harpreet Brar

Riyan Parag plays his third IPL match in Guwahati after setting a world record with seven consecutive fifties for Assam in the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In Guwahati last season, Parag only scored 20 at No. 6 versus PBKS; considering his recent form at No. 4, he has a potential to score more this time. Virat Kohli is the only hitter to have scored more than 600 runs this season, and he is just a hundred runs away from tying Ruturaj Gaikwad for second place in run total.

Also read: Punjab Kings lose Liam Livingstone for the rest of the season