England star Jos Buttler looks set to join the Rajasthan Royals line-up for Sunday’s clash against a charged-up Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah on Sunday.

Team ambassador and mentor Shane Warne too has joined the Royals camp.

Buttler, who missed the Royals’ winning opener against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday, would be available for selection having completed his mandatory quarantine upon arrival in Dubai.

Sanju Samson, the man of the match against CSK, showed that he too could be counted as a potential match-winner for the Royals, although, with Buttler in, they need to make up their mind on who would don the keeper’s gloves.

The Royals also need to finalise the batting position of Buttler, who may open alongside young Yashashvi Jaiswal. Samson and captain Steve Smith could be the batsmen for the No.3 and 4 slots.

With Buttler set to feature in the XI, David Miller is likely to sit out, with Tom Curran and Jofra Archer expected to complete the Royals’ four-player overseas quota.

“I am really excited to play my first game. It was great to be back in training with the boys. There’s a great vibe, so I’m really looking forward to taking the field,” Buttler said on match eve. “The energy around the squad is fantastic, obviously a lot of confidence after that first game. So I’m expecting a really tough match against Kings XI.”

The Sharjah pitch has, so far in this edition, been the most favourable for batsmen, something that the Royals bowlers too found out to a certain extent in spite of their win over the Super Kings. So versus Kings XI, particularly with their skipper KL Rahul in good form, the likes of Archer, Curran, Jaydev Unadkat and Shreyas Gopal need to be careful about offering as little room and width as possible.

Rahul aside, Mayank Agarwal too could be dangerous, while the devastating Glenn Maxwell is also due for a big one. Kings XI, however, need to make up their mind as to whether they should give a chance or two more to the off-colour young Nicholas Pooran, or bring ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle into the XI.

Kings XI’s spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin too seem to be in good rhythm. Having said that, the Royals’ batting line-up isn’t top-heavy like that of RCB, so Bishnoi and Murugan will have to look to vary their lengths.