IPL 2026: What can be Rajasthan Royals' best XI?
What's the story
Rajasthan Royals (RR) are gearing up for the 2026 Indian Premier League under a new captain, Riyan Parag. The inaugural IPL champions will aim to turn the tide after a topsy-turvy 2025 season. Ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, RR traded in all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran from CSK in exchange for Sanju Samson. What can be their best XI?
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).
Batting
Sooryavanshi, Jaiswal set to open again
Despite losing Samson, RR have a lot of batting firepower in Sooryavanshi, Jaiswal, Hetmyer, and wicket-keeper Jurel. The Royals are expected to continue with their opening pair of Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi. Lhuan-dre Pretorius can come in at No. 3 Meanwhile, Riyan can rotate himself along with Curran and Jadeja in the batting line-up. Their batting seems to be covering all bases.
Others
All-rounders and bowlers
While Jadeja brings his all-round experience to the table, RR will definitely bank on Curran's versatility. RR can also try South African spin-bowling all-rounder Donovan Ferreira, with Riyan also rolling his arm over. Jofra Archer and Ravi Bishnoi are certain starters, Sandeep Sharma and Tushar Deshpande could be used as Impact Players (bowling). RR also have the express pace of Adam Milne.
Line-up
RR's Probable XI
Probable XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Riyan Parag (captain), Dhruv Jurel (wicket-keeper), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, and Sandeep Sharma. Impact Players: Tushar Deshpande and Shubham Dubey.