He was with Rajasthan Royals for three seasons.
Former Rajasthan Royals (RR) wicketkeeper-batter Kunal Singh Rathore put on a magnificent batting show in the DY Patil T20 Tournament 2026. He was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, as RR looked for a mini reset after last season’s debacle.
Rathore scored 93 runs in 50 balls, including 10 boundaries and four maximums, at a strike rate of 186. 68.81% of his runs came via fours and sixes, and he scored 40.96% of the team’s runs alone.
He came to bat at No.5 when his team was 75/3 in 6.4 overs and ensured the momentum kept going by batting with a positive intent right from the start. Kunal formed useful partnerships with Amogh Jitendra Bhatkal and Saurabh Singh to help Nirlon get a massive 227/6 in the first innings.
Former Rajasthan Royals batter remained unbeaten till the end and would be gutted not to complete his century, even though his knock was still marvellous. He couldn’t have found a better time to make these runs, considering he might be in contention for replacement player in IPL 2026.
Rajasthan Royals released Kunal Singh Rathore ahead of the IPL 2026 auction after giving him minimal chances across three seasons – 2023, 2024, and 2025. He played only one game, where he was dismissed on a 5-ball duck, and was later unsold ahead of this edition.
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However, Kunal might still be in contention to come in as a replacement player, as he offers dual value: a batter and a wicketkeeper. He has been among the most consistent players for his state side and brings ample experience being in the IPL environment after working with RR for a number of years.
That he can also bat in the middle order gives IPL teams more flexibility, and the youngster can be a solid backup option. At the moment, every side has ample players in this role, including backups, but injuries or other unavailability could help Kunal come into the picture again.
These performances will help him further press his chances, as teams prefer recency bias and experience in players. This time, Kunal would want to end up with a team that gives him more chances than Rajasthan Royals did.
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