Abu Dhabi, Oct 30 (IANS): Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Friday won the toss and chose to bowl against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in an Indian Premier League match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. KXIP are looking to get closer to booking a playoff spot by continuing their winning run.

RR captain Steve Smith said they have brought in fast bowler Varun Aaron in place of Ankit Rajpoot. Meanwhile, KXIP captain KL Rahul said he has retained the XI that played in their previous game, and that means that opener Mayank Agarwal will miss this match too.

Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (captain/wicket-keeper), Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

Rajasthan Royals: Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Steven Smith (captain), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Kartik Tyagi