The franchise would be in good shape ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.
Way before the IPL 2026 auction, the Rajasthan Royals have constantly made the news on squad and support staff changes. Letting go of Sanju Samson in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran was one of the biggest trades in the history of the Indian Premier League. That being said, the management also released their prime spinners in Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga, and one of the major slots to fill in the mini-auction would be that of a leg-spinner.
The fact that Ravindra Jadeja would be a crucial part of their spin-bowling plans would ease their nerves to an extent. But that would not stop the franchise from looking towards acquiring a leg-spin option. Jadeja is superb in terms of accuracy in the middle-overs. Add to that a wicket-taking option, and the set-up becomes more lethal than it was before.
Though multiple members of the support staff have parted ways with the franchise, along with Sanju Samson, the management has done a pretty decent job of retaining the core players of the franchise. The top order for the Rajasthan Royals looks set with Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal taking the opener spots. To add to that, the likes of Riyan Parag would be backed to take the No.3 slot.
The newly acquired Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran would both be starters in the XI and would comprise the middle-order. The RR management would also be looking at acquiring a middle-order batter – probably the likes of David Miller from the auction to aid their batting in the middle-overs. However, this is how their playing XI looks to be at the moment.
Most of the line-up looks sorted for the champions of the maiden IPL season. The only two points they would need to discuss would be a good aggressor in the middle overs, and a quality leg-spinning option to enhance the company of Jadeja.
Out of all the spinners that have been released by their respective franchises, Ravi Bishnoi would be the prime target for a lot of franchises. Such should be the case for the Rajasthan Royals. But one thing that might challenge them would be their remaining purse, which stands at INR 16.05 crore.
With a lot of demand for the LSG spinner, teams with a higher purse would go aggressively bidding for Bishnoi. Hence, there is a chance that RR might have to curb their plans a bit. However, if they manage to get their hands on the Indian leg-spinner, it would do a world of good for them, considering his skill set going in sync with the conditions in Jaipur.
ALSO READ:
Though the franchise released him in the lead-up to the auction, they might end up going for him again in the auction, considering the lack of quality leg-spinners in the auction pool. To add to that, their purse of INR 16.05 crore would not be enough to gain a competitive edge over the other franchises.
Wanindu Hasaranga’s main strength has always been the ability to bowl the googly without the batters being able to pick it from his hand. As a result, the batter is forced to pick the direction of the ball from the wicket, which sometimes gets too late. Most of Hasaranga’s wickets are registered similarly, with the ball hurrying onto the batter, and the batter not having enough time to react.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
