Rajasthan Royals IPL 2026 Squad Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Strongest XI

They had traded in Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran ahead of the auction.

Rajasthan Royals might have one of the most exciting lineups in the IPL 2026. The franchise, led by coach Kumar Sangakkara, did not have a great auction. But they have managed to build a good squad for the next edition.

Rajasthan Royals went into the mini auction with a purse of INR 16.05 crore and a maximum of nine spots to be filled. Following the auction, we take a look at the full squad, the strongest XI, strengths, and weaknesses of Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2026.

Rajasthan Royals IPL 2026 Squad After Auction

Rajasthan Royals were in the spotlight before the retention deadline as they traded in Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran in return for Sanju Samson. They also brought in Donovan Ferreira from the Delhi Capitals in exchange for Nitish Rana.

In the IPL 2026 auction, Rajasthan Royals bought Ravi Bishnoi for INR 7.20 crore. They also signed Sushant Mishra for INR 90 lakhs and Vignesh Puthur for INR 30 lakhs. They used up their last overseas slot on Adam Milne, whom they bought for INR 2.40 crore.

Here’s the full RR squad for IPL 2026:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Jofra Archer, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Donovan Ferreira, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Tushar Deshpande, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punia, Vignesh Puthur, Ravi Singh, Aman Rao, Brijesh Sharma, Adam Milne, and Kuldeep Sen.

Rooted in Rajasthan. Ready for what’s next. Your Class of 2026 is locked & ready to 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐥! 💗🔥 pic.twitter.com/GnUNR2ZoNS
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) December 16, 2025

Rajasthan Royals Strongest XI for IPL 2026

Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Riyan Parag
Dhruv Jurel (wk)
Ravindra Jadeja
Shimron Hetmyer ✈️
Donovan Ferreira ✈️
Sam Curran ✈️
Jofra Archer ✈️
Ravi Bishnoi
Tushar Deshpande
Sandeep Sharma (IP)

Strengths of Rajasthan Royals Squad IPL 2026

Looking at the Rajasthan Royals team, they have plenty of positives for the next season. Here we go through the strengths of the RR squad IPL 2026:

The explosive top order is the biggest strength for the Royals. In Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and Riyan Parag, they have arguably the best top order in the league.
RR have good middle order options such as Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Finishing was a major issue for them in the previous edition. The addition of Donovan Ferreira adds support in their lower middle order.
The batting unit looks destructive with a mix of left-hand and right-hand batters and multiple spin hitters.
In Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, and Tushar Deshpande, they have a quality pace attack for power play.

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Weaknesses of RR Squad IPL 2026

Rajasthan Royals had done most of their work in the trade window. They didn’t have many requirements in the mini auction, but could have done a much better job of fine-tuning their squad. Their limitations are as follows:

Despite having some known names in the lower middle order, finishing could still be an issue for them, especially against high-end pace.
Death overs bowling will be a concern as most of their options have a tendency to leak runs at the back end.
RR went hard for Ravi Bishnoi to sort out their spin department after releasing Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana. While he is one of the better domestic wrist spinners, his numbers in recent times haven’t been great. Bishnoi has conceded at 8.78 rpo in the last four IPL seasons, which isn’t ideal for a primary spinner.
With the purse they had, Rajasthan should have tried to get a better overseas pacer, considering the fitness issues of Archer and Burger. Someone like Matt Henry or Jacob Duffy would’ve strengthened their squad.

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