Why are Rajasthan playing their first two home games of the ITL 2023 in Guwahati?

The first two of Rajasthan's home games will be played in Guwahati, and the remaining will be in Jaipur. For those unaware, two Indian T20 League (ITL) 2020 matches were supposed to be played at the Barasapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. However, they were postponed due to COVID-19 in the previous three ITL seasons.

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In ITL 2023, home and away matches will once again be played, and RR has chosen Guwahati as their secondary home. On Wednesday, April 5, Sanju Samson and company will face Shikhar Dhawan's Punjab side in Guwahati in their maiden home game. On Saturday, April 8, they will host the Delhi at the same location.

Rajasthan and Punjab are the only ITL Teams with second homes

The Baraspara Cricket Stadium can accommodate 40,000 spectators, according to ESPNCricinfo. Three T20Is have already taken place there. The site in the northeast is known for helping chasing teams due to high dew. Hence the toss assumes significance. In the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, the Rajasthan Royals will play their final five home games against Lucknow, Chennai, Gujarat, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

In ITL 2023, Punjab will also play a few home games at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala after playing their first five games at the PCA Stadium in Mohali, making Rajasthan, not the only team having a second home.

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Yuzvendra Chahal's four-wicket haul helped Rajasthan defeat Hyderabad by 72 runs on Sunday, April 2, to start their IPL 2023 season on a successful note. The IPL 2022 runner-up will enter the match against Punjab and Delhi in Guwahati, full of confidence. On the other hand, Punjab started their campaign with a rain-drenched victory over Kolkata, winning the game by 7 runs via the DLS Method.

Here is the full Rajasthan squad for ITL 2023: Jason Holder, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Adam Zampa, KM Asif, Murugan Ashwin, Abdul PA, Akash Vashisht, Joe Root, Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, and KC Cariappa.