The only two teams that are yet to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 are Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. These two sides will be in action in Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on April 9.
Sunrisers and the Royals were forced to make changes to their squad after the ball-tampering scandal involving Australia's Steven Smith and David Warner broke out in South Africa. Cricket Australia banned the duo for one year, while Cameron Bancroft was banned for nine months from playing domestic and international cricket.
The IPL also decided to suspend the two from this year's domestic T20 league in India. This saw the two franchises elect new captains for the 11th edition of the competitionSunrisers Hyderabad replaced Warner with New Zealand's Kane Williamson, while Ajinkya Rahane will lead Rajasthan Royals this season.
India's Shikhar Dhawan will lead the batting lineup for the 2016 IPL winners. In the absence of Warner, England's Alex Hales is likely to partner Dhawan to open Sunrisers Hyderabad's batting division.
Afghanistan spinner Rashid Kha and India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar will have a key role with the ball. Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan will be key – both with the bat and ball – for Hyderbabad this season.
Meanwhile, England's Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler will be the two key players for the Royals. Wicket-keeper Sanju Samson will be provided with another opportunity to showcase his talent at IPL 2018.
Possible XI
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Deepak Hooda, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma
Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Stuart Binny, Ankit Sharma, Jofra Archer, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat.
Where to watch live
Match starts at 8pm IST/3:30pm BST. Live coverage of the event will be available on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD. Mobile, laptop and tablet users can watch the match live on Hotstar.
Global broadcasters and Digital partners list:
| UK | Sky Sports | skysports.com, skygo |
| USA | Willow | Hotstar |
| Pakistan | Geo Super | www.geosuper.tv, www.geo.tv |
| Bangladesh | Channel 9 | Channel 9 |
| Canada | Willow | Hotstar |
| Australia | Fox Sports | foxsports.com.au, Foxtel GO |
| Caribbean | Flow TV | Flowtv.com, Flow Sports App |
| Sub Saharan Africa | Supersport | Supersport.com, Supersport App |
| New Zealand | Sky Sports | www.skygo.co.nz, fanpass.co.nz,www.sky.co.nz |
| MENA | BeIN Sport | BeIN connect |
| Afghanistan | Lemar TV |
