2026 Rajasthan Royals season
Indian Premier League cricket team
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The 2026 season was Rajasthan Royals' seventeenth appearance in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They were one of the ten cricket teams that competed in the 2026 IPL. The team was captained by Riyan Parag and coached by Kumar Sangakkara.
| 2026 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Sawai Mansingh Stadium and ACA Cricket Stadium, home grounds of Rajasthan Royals | |||
| Coach | Kumar Sangakkara | ||
| Captain | Riyan Parag | ||
| Ground(s) | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur ACA Cricket Stadium, Guwahati | ||
| League stage | 4th place | ||
| Eliminator | Won against Sunrisers Hyderabad | ||
| Qualifier 2 | Lost to Gujarat Titans | ||
| Most runs | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (776)[1] | ||
| Most wickets | Jofra Archer (25)[2] | ||
| Most catches | Donovan Ferreira (13)[3] | ||
| Most wicket-keeping dismissals | Dhruv Jurel (19)[4] | ||
| |||
Rajasthan Royals finished in fourth place in the league stage, and advanced to Eliminator in the playoffs. The team won Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad but lost Qualifier 2 to Gujarat Titans. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored the most runs (776) while Jofra Archer took the most wickets (25) for Rajasthan in the 2026 season; Sooryavanshi's 776 runs were also the most by any batter in the tournament.
Pre-season
The 2026 Indian Premier League was the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league held in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).[5] Rajasthan Royals had previously won the title once in the 2008 inaugural IPL.[6] The team finished in ninth place in the previous season.[7] The tournament featured ten teams competing in 74 matches from 28 March to 31 May 2026.[8][9][10] Rajasthan played most of their home matches at Sawai Mansingh Stadium with two matches played at ACA Cricket Stadium.[11][12]
Player retention
Franchises were allowed to retain any number of players from their squad,[13] including traded players while excluding players signed as temporary replacements.[14] Franchises were required to submit their retention lists before 15 November 2025.[15] Rajasthan retained sixteen players,[16][17][18] but did not retain their prior captain Sanju Samson whom they traded to Chennai Super Kings in return for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.[19] Rajsthan also traded Nitish Rana to Delhi Capitals in return for Donovan Ferreira.[20]
- Rajasthan Royals traded Sanju Samson to Chennai Super Kings in return for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.[19]
- Rajasthan Royals traded Nitish Rana to Delhi Capitals in return for Donovan Ferreira.[20]
Auction
The season's auction took place on 16 December 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[23] The auction purse for each franchise was set at ₹125 crore (US$13 million),[16] with franchises being deducted an amount from the purse for every retained player.[13][24] Rajasthan had a purse remaining of ₹16.05 crore (US$1.7 million).[25] Rajasthan bought nine players in the auction, including three capped players and one overseas player.[26][27]
| Domestic | Overseas | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Capped | Uncapped | Capped | Uncapped |
|
N/a | ||
Squad
- Players with international caps as of start of 2026 IPL are listed in bold.
- Ages are as of 28 March 2026.
- Withdrawn players are indicated by a dagger symbol (†) and placed at the bottom of the table.
| S/N | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Donovan Ferreira |  South Africa | 21 July 1998 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | ₹1 crore (US$100,000) | Overseas |
| 4 | Vignesh Puthur |  India | 2 March 2001 (aged 25) | Left-handed | Left-arm unorthodox | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | |
| 5 | Riyan Parag | India | 10 November 2001 (aged 24) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | ₹14 crore (US$1.5 million) | Captain[29] |
| 6 | Lhuan-dre Pretorius | South Africa | 28 March 2006 (aged 20) | Left-handed | N/a | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | Overseas |
| 7 | Dasun Shanaka |  Sri Lanka | 9 September 1991 (aged 34) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ₹2 crore (US$210,000) | Overseas; replacement[a] |
| 8 | Ravindra Jadeja | India | 6 December 1988 (aged 37) | Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox | ₹14 crore (US$1.5 million) | |
| 11 | Kwena Maphaka | South Africa | 8 April 2006 (aged 19) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | ₹1.5 crore (US$160,000) | Overseas |
| 12 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | India | 27 March 2011 (aged 15) | Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox | ₹1.1 crore (US$110,000) | |
| 14 | Yash Raj Punja | India | 26 June 2006 (aged 19) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ₹90 lakh (US$93,000) | |
| 16 | Brijesh Sharma | India | 16 December 1998 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | |
| 17 | Nandre Burger | South Africa | 11 August 1995 (aged 30) | Left-handed | Left-arm fast-medium | ₹3.5 crore (US$360,000) | Overseas |
| 18 | Kuldeep Sen | India | 22 October 1996 (aged 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | ₹75 lakh (US$78,000) | |
| 20 | Sandeep Sharma | India | 18 May 1993 (aged 32) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | ₹4 crore (US$420,000) | |
| 21 | Dhruv Jurel | India | 21 January 2001 (aged 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | ₹14 crore (US$1.5 million) | |
| 22 | Jofra Archer |  England | 1 April 1995 (aged 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | ₹12.5 crore (US$1.3 million) | Overseas |
| 23 | Adam Milne |  New Zealand | 13 April 1992 (aged 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | ₹2.4 crore (US$250,000) | Overseas |
| 24 | Tushar Deshpande | India | 15 May 1995 (aged 30) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | ₹6.5 crore (US$670,000) | |
| 27 | Shubham Dubey | India | 27 August 1994 (aged 31) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | ₹80 lakh (US$83,000) | |
| 34 | Yudhvir Singh | India | 13 September 1997 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | ₹35 lakh (US$36,000) | |
| 51 | Sushant Mishra | India | 23 December 2000 (aged 25) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium fast | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | |
| 56 | Ravi Bishnoi | India | 5 September 2000 (aged 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | ₹7.2 crore (US$750,000) | |
| 64 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | India | 28 December 2001 (aged 24) | Left-handed | Right-arm leg break | ₹18 crore (US$1.9 million) | Stand-in captain[b] |
| 189 | Shimron Hetmyer |  West Indies | 26 December 1996 (aged 29) | Left-handed | Right-arm leg break | ₹11 crore (US$1.1 million) | Overseas |
| N/a | Emanjot Chahal | India | 17 August 2004 (aged 21) | Right-handed | Left-arm orthodox | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | Replacement[c] |
| N/a | Aman Rao | India | 2 June 2004 (aged 21) | Right-handed | N/a | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | |
| 58 | Sam Curran † | England | 3 June 1998 (aged 27) | Left-handed | Left-arm fast-medium | ₹2.4 crore (US$250,000) | Overseas; withdrawn[a] |
| 88 | Ravi Singh † | India | 25 May 2001 (aged 24) | Left-handed | Left-arm leg break | ₹95 lakh (US$99,000) | Withdrawn[c] |
- Dasun Shanaka replaced Sam Curran, after the latter withdrew due to groin injury.[31]
- Yashasvi Jaiswal captained Rajasthan Royals against Gujarat Titans when Riyan Parag was unavailable.[30]
Support staff
In September 2025, it was announced that Kumar Sangakkara would return as Rajasthan's head coach replacing Rahul Dravid,[33][34] while Shane Bond would replace Sairaj Bahutule as bowling coach and Trevor Penney would join as an assistant coach.[35][36]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Kumar Sangakkara |
| Assistant coach | Trevor Penney |
| Batting coach | Vikram Rathour |
| Bowling coach | Shane Bond |
League stage
Rajasthan Royals began their season with four consecutive wins against Chennai,[38] Gujarat Titans,[39] Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.[40] They lost their next two matches to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, won against Lucknow Super Giants, lost to Hyderabad and won against Punjab Kings. The lost their next three matches to Delhi, Gujarat[41] and Delhi but won their last two matches against Lucknow and Mumbai to finish the league stage in fouth place with eight wins from 14 matches, and advanced to Eliminator in the playoffs.[42][43]
Points table
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (C) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.783 | Advanced to Qualifier 1 |
| 2 | B | Gujarat Titans (R) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.695 | |
| 3 | B | Sunrisers Hyderabad (4th) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.524 | Advanced to Eliminator |
| 4 | A | Rajasthan Royals (3rd) | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 0.189 | |
| 5 | A | Punjab Kings | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 0.309 | Eliminated |
| 6 | B | Delhi Capitals | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | −0.651 | |
| 7 | A | Kolkata Knight Riders | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 13 | −0.147 | |
| 8 | A | Chennai Super Kings | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 12 | −0.345 | |
| 9 | B | Mumbai Indians | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 8 | −0.584 | |
| 10 | B | Lucknow Super Giants | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 8 | −0.740 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Wickets taken per fair deliveries; 5) drawing lots[44]
(C) Champions; (R) Runners-up
League progression
| Win | Loss | No result |
- Note: The total points at the end of each group match are listed.
- Note: Click on the points (group matches) or W/L (playoffs) to see the match summary.
Fixtures
Chennai Super Kings 127 (19.4 overs) |
v |
Rajasthan Royals (H) 128/2 (12.1 overs) |
- Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field.
- Brijesh Sharma (Rajasthan Royals) made his T20 debut.[45]
- Kartik Sharma (Chennai Super Kings) made his IPL debut.[46]
Rajasthan Royals 210/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Gujarat Titans (H) 204/8 (20 overs) |
- Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat.
Rajasthan Royals (H) 150/3 (11 overs) |
v |
Mumbai Indians 123/9 (11 overs) |
- Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field.
- The match was reduced to 11 overs per side due to rain.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal (Rajasthan Royals) scored his 100th six in IPL.[47]
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 201/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Rajasthan Royals (H) 202/4 (18 overs) |
- Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (H) 216/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Rajasthan Royals 159 (19 overs) |
Donovan Ferreira 69 (44) Sakib Hussain 4/24 (4 overs) |
- Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field.
- Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain (Sunrisers Hyderabad) both made their IPL debuts.[48]
- Praful Hinge also became the first bowler to take 3 wickets in his debut over and to take 3 wickets in the opening over of an IPL innings.[49]
Rajasthan Royals 155/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 161/6 (19.4 overs) |
- Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat.
Rajasthan Royals 159/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Lucknow Super Giants (H) 119 (18 overs) |
- Lucknow Super Giants won the toss and elected to field.
Rajasthan Royals (H) 228/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Sunrisers Hyderabad 229/5 (18.3 overs) |
- Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to field.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Rajasthan Royals) became the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20s, in terms of deliveries faced (473).[50]
Punjab Kings (H) 222/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Rajasthan Royals 228/4 (19.2 overs) |
- Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field.
Rajasthan Royals (H) 225/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Delhi Capitals 226/3 (19.1 overs) |
- Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat.
Gujarat Titans 229/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Rajasthan Royals (H) 152 (16.3 overs) |
Shubman Gill 84 (44) Brijesh Sharma 2/47 (4 overs) |
- Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field.
Rajasthan Royals 193/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Delhi Capitals (H) 197/5 (19.2 overs) |
- Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to field.
- Ravi Singh (Rajasthan Royals) and Tripurana Vijay (Delhi Capitals) both made their IPL debuts.[51][52]
Lucknow Super Giants 220/5 (20 overs) |
v |
Rajasthan Royals (H) 225/3 (19.1 overs) |
- Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field.
- Sushant Mishra (Rajasthan Royals) made his IPL debut.[53]
Rajasthan Royals 205/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Mumbai Indians (H) 175/9 (20 overs) |
- Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field.
- Rajasthan Royals qualified for the playoffs while Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders were eliminated as a result of this match.[54]
Playoffs
Bracket
| Qualifier 1 | Qualifier 2 | Final | |||||||||||
| 26 May 2026 – Dharamshala | 31 May 2026 – Ahmedabad | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 254/5 (20 overs) | Q1W | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 161/5 (18 overs) | ||||||||
| 2 | Gujarat Titans | 162 (19.3 overs) | 29 May 2026 – Mullanpur | Q2W | Gujarat Titans | 155/8 (20 overs) | |||||||
| Q1L | Gujarat Titans | 219/3 (18.4 overs) | |||||||||||
| Eliminator | EW | Rajasthan Royals | 214/6 (20 overs) | ||||||||||
| 27 May 2026 – Mullanpur | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 196 (19.2 overs) | |||||||||||
| 4 | Rajasthan Royals | 243/8 (20 overs) | |||||||||||
- Source: ESPNcricinfo[43]
Eliminator
Rajasthan Royals 243/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Sunrisers Hyderabad 196 (19.2 overs) |
- Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to field.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Rajasthan Royals) broke Chris Gayle's record (59) for most sixes in a single IPL season.[55]
Qualifier 2
Rajasthan Royals 214/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Gujarat Titans 219/3 (18.4 overs) |
- Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Rajasthan Royals) became the fastest Indian player to score 1,000 runs in IPL, in terms of innings (23).[56]
- Gujarat Titans qualified for their third IPL final.[57]
Statistics
At the IPL end of season awards, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was awarded as the Most Valuable Player and the Emerging player of the season. He was also awarded for most runs, most sixes and the highest batting strike rate in the season.[58]
| Runs | Player |
|---|---|
| 776 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi |
| 515 | Dhruv Jurel |
| 427 | Yashasvi Jaiswal |
| 317 | Donovan Ferreira |
| 309 | Riyan Parag |
| Wickets | Player |
|---|---|
| 25 | Jofra Archer |
| 14 | Brijesh Sharma |
| Nandre Burger | |
| 11 | Ravi Bishnoi |
| 10 | Ravindra Jadeja |