The team finished 9th on the points table in the last season.
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) have been one of the teams that have constantly made the headlines in the recent past. But unfortunately for them, they have been on the wrong side of things.
The series of incidents started when skipper Sanju Samson expressed his intentions to move away from the franchise, in order to seek opportunities elsewhere. Since then, nothing has been normal in the franchise.
Head coach Rahul Dravid parted ways with the franchise soon after, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jake Lush McCrum followed weeks after. All these actions indicate an unrest in the franchise, which is never a good sign ahead of the start of a new season.
To add to that, the team finished at the ninth spot in the points table in the recent season. All the mentioned factors coupled with results have grown into a domino effect, which will lead to the franchise releasing quite a few players ahead of the next season.
Letting go of players is never an easy feeling. But cricket is a sport which is played on more than just emotion, and hence, franchises have to let some players loose. Though there isn’t just one factor for a franchise to let go of a player, the most important might be close to the team combination.
With everything that’s going on in the news, the Rajasthan Royals have the potential to see some light in the dark. Kumar Sangakkara, who has known the franchise inside out, is expected to take over the reins as the head coach.
The franchise lost Jos Buttler after the 2024 season. They did try to get him back in the auction, but were outweighed by Gujarat Titans, who sealed the deal for a whopping INR 15.75 Crore. However, considering that Sanju Samson’s wish to look for a different franchise holds true, the Rajasthan Royals would be out of their two pillars on the field in two consecutive seasons.
But this is where the Rajasthan Royals have an opportunity to step back and think constructively. The champions of the maiden IPL season have got one of the finest lot of young talent. Players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel would be a fantastic Indian core to invest in. The franchise can aim at thinking long-term and make their plans accordingly.
All said and done, the Rajasthan Royals would have to release quite a few players from their current squad of 20, in order to rebuild a solid team. Here is a list of some of the players who could be on their list to be released ahead of the IPL 2026 auction:
Considering the possibility that the wicketkeeper-batter from Kerala is not traded and enters the auction, it would be a humongous opportunity for other franchises. This is most likely to happen after Samson’s wish to look for newer opportunities.
The left-arm pacer was a part of five matches in the last season, but could not garner a lot of impact and ended with zero wickets in the campaign. With the likes of other left-arm pacers in the mix, it would make sense for the franchise to let go of the Afghanistan speedster.
The Sri Lankan mystery spinner has not held a lot of mystery against batters in the IPL recently. In 11 games in the last season, he could scalp only 11 wickets and gave away runs at an economy of almost 10 runs. The Rajasthan Royals could look at other potential spinners.
Though this might come as a surprise to a lot of fans, the English speedster has been on the receiving end of a lot of injuries in the recent past. He featured in 12 matches in the 2025 season, but could only gather 11 wickets to his name. The franchise would like a more consistent option.
ALSO READ:
After the retentions and releases, here’s how the Rajasthan Royals squad might look:
Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Shimron Hetmyer, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Dhruv Jurel, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Shubham Dubey, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Tushar Deshpande.
Sanju Samson, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Maheesh Theekshana, Jofra Archer, Kunal Rathore, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Nandre Burger, Ashok Sharma, and Kumar Kartikeya.
This is one of the questions the management will have to ponder upon. Last season, they handed over the captaincy to Riyan Parag in the absence of Samson, but it would be debatable to entrust the youngster with the responsibility for the entire season.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
