Is Ravichandran Ashwin playing today's KKR vs RR IPL 2024 match?

Ravichandran Ashwin is back in the Rajasthan Royals (RR) team for their IPL 2024 game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday, April 16.

Rajasthan are taking on Kolkata in match 31 of IPL 2024. The Sanju Samson-led squad have made two changes to their team that took on Punjab Kings in their previous match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh on April 13. Apart from Ashwin, opener Jos Buttler also makes a comeback.

Veteran off-spinner Ashwin had missed RR's previous match due to a niggle, while Buttler sat out of the contest, as he wasn't 100 percent fit. After winning the toss ahead of the KKR vs RR IPL 2024 match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the Rajasthan Royals skipper confirmed the changes.

Rajasthan are the top-ranked side in the IPL 2024 points table, having won five of their six matches. They began the tournament with four consecutive wins before going down to Gujarat Titans in Jaipur. RR returned to winning ways in the last game, getting the better of Punjab Kings by three wickets in Mullanpur.

RR playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Dhruv Jurel, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal

RR subs: Jos Buttler, Navdeep Saini, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Nandre Burger, Shubham Dubey

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Ravichandran Ashwin's performance in IPL 2024 so far

The 37-year-old Ashwin has not tasted a lot of success in IPL 2024. In five matches, he has only claimed one wicket at an economy rate of 8.42.

The only scalp he has picked up came in the match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Ashwin picked up the wicket of all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, finishing his four-over spell with figures of 1-35.

In his overall IPL career, Ashwin has played 202 matches, picking up 172 wickets at an average of 29.44 and an impressive economy rate of 7.05, with a best of 4-34. He has also made some handy contributions with the bat, scoring 759 runs at a strike rate of 119.34, with a best of 50.

Before being picked up by Rajasthan Royals in 2022, Ashwin represented Chennai Super Kings, Rising Pune Supergiant, Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in the IPL.