IPL 2026: Can Rajasthan Royals resurrect under Riyan Parag?
What's the story
Rajasthan Royals (RR) are gearing up for the 2026 Indian Premier League under a new captain, Riyan Parag. In his leadership, the inaugural IPL champions will aim to turn the tide. In a topsy-turvy 2025 season, RR won just four matches. Ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, RR traded in all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran from CSK in exchange for Sanju Samson. Notably, Jadeja won the IPL 2008 with RR.
Squad
Have a look at their squad
Players retained: Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Kunal Rathore, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Jofra Archer, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma, and Nandre Burger. Players bought: Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj, Vignesh Puthur, Adam Milne, Kuldeep Sen, Aman Rao, Ravi Singh, Brijesh Sharma, Curran (traded), and Jadeja (traded).
Strengths
RR have nearly all bases covered
Despite losing Samson, RR have a lot of batting firepower in Sooryavanshi, Jaiswal, Jurel, and Hetmyer. The Royals are expected to continue with their opening pair of Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi. Meanwhile, captain Riyan can rotate himself along with Curran and Jadeja according to the situation in the batting line-up. Apart from Curran and Archer's pace-bowling, RR have potent spinners in Bishnoi and Jadeja.
Information
What are their weaknesses?
Although RR have a star-studded line-up, they lack a solid fast-bowling Indian all-rounder. Moreover, Archer, albeit with his express pace, tends to leak runs in phases. So is the case with Tushar Deshpande and Sandeep Sharma.
Season
How RR fared in IPL 2025
RR, who reached the playoffs in 2024, finished ninth last season. This was partly because their regular skipper, Samson, couldn't play all matches. He missed five matches, where Riyan stepped in. An unsettled combination, coupled with inconsistency, marred their IPL 2025 campaign. Overall, RR lost 10 of their 14 matches and had a Net Run Rate of -0.549.