Rajasthan Royals (RR) endured a disappointing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign. They finished ninth with eight points from 14 matches. For the upcoming season, the franchise will have an important task ahead, especially in deciding who will feature in the Rajasthan Royals retained players 2026 list as the retention deadline approaches.
Ahead of IPL 2025, they had retained six players, out of which five were part of their Indian core. For the next season, they are expected to retain most of them, as they performed well for the team in the previous season. Only their skipper, Sanju Samson, is likely to leave the franchise, as reports suggest he is close to a trade with Chennai Super Kings, so he is expected to be in the RR released players 2026 list. The others, including some of their new signings, are expected to be retained ahead of the next season and are expected to feature in the RR retention list.
Let’s look at the core Indian domestic players who might feature in the Rajasthan Royals retained players 2026.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is one of the likely names to be in the Rajasthan Royals retained players list. He was retained for INR 18 crore in the IPL 2025 auction. Since his debut, Yashasvi Jaiswal has only played for the Royals. In total, he has played 67 matches and has scored 2,166 runs at an average of 34.38 and a strike rate of 152.85. He has two centuries and 15 half-centuries to his name.
In IPL 2025, Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 559 runs in 14 matches at an average of 44 and a strike rate of 159.71, including six half-centuries. He was their top scorer of the season and one of the names expected to feature in the RR retention list.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, after an impressive debut season in IPL 2025, is another name that is likely to feature in the Rajasthan Royals retained players list. The 14-year-old was bought for INR 1.10 crore in the IPL 2025 auction. He played seven matches in the season and scored 252 runs at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 206.55, including one century and one half-century.
The century he scored came in just 35 balls against Gujarat Titans, which is also the second-fastest in IPL history and the fastest by an Indian. With these impressive stats, he is likely to feature in the RR retention list, and if he does, he might get more matches next season if Sanju Samson is traded to CSK.
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Riyan Parag was retained by RR for INR 14 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. He played 14 matches in IPL 2025 and scored 393 runs at an average of 32.75 and a strike rate of 166.52. Riyan Parag is expected to feature in the Rajasthan Royals retained players 2026 list. He captained the team in Sanju Samson’s absence when he was injured at the start of the season and also during the later part of the tournament.
Just like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag has played for RR throughout the IPL. In 84 matches, he has scored 1,566 runs in 72 innings, including two half-centuries. His IPL 2024 season was the best for him, where he scored 573 runs in 14 innings. He will be a candidate for captaincy next season as he is expected to be in the RR retention list.
Rajasthan Royals retained Dhruv Jurel for INR 14 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. With Sanju Samson likely to be traded to CSK, Dhruv Jurel is one of the players expected to feature in the Rajasthan Royals retained players 2026 list.
He played 14 matches in IPL 2025 and scored 333 runs at an average of 37 and a strike rate of 156.33, including two half-centuries. Jurel has also been with Rajasthan Royals since his debut. Talking about the Indian domestic core, he was retained by the franchise last season and is expected to feature again in the RR retention list.
Sandeep Sharma has played the last few IPL seasons with Rajasthan Royals. He was retained by them for INR 4 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. In the last three seasons, he has picked up 32 wickets in 32 innings. In IPL 2025, he took nine wickets in 10 innings with an economy rate of 9.89.
He has mainly been used by RR to bowl in the death overs, and he has done well in that role. In 2023 and 2024, his economy were 8.60 and 8.18, respectively. Bowling at the death and keeping the economy under 10 is a solid effort. So even though Sandeep Sharma hasn’t taken many wickets, he has been consistent in his role and performed decently, which is why he is likely to feature in the RR retention list 2026 and not in the RR released players 2026 list.
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