The franchise traded Sanju Samson to the Chennai Super Kings in exchange of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.
After weeks of drama with respect to the biggest trade surrounding the two franchises, the releases and retentions have been rolled out. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) have made a huge gain in Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. That being said, the RR auction 2026 strategy would be a supreme point of discussion ahead of the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The RR retained players 2026 list did not contain a lot of surprises, as the franchise has chosen to retain most of their gun players. Except trading Sanju Samson to the Chennai Super Kings, most of their core has remained intact. One of the surprise trades that RR have gone ahead with, was the trade of Donovan Ferreira, who has raised his stocks in the franchise leagues around the globe.
The champions of the maiden season of the IPL have retained the likes of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel – which constitutes almost every aspect of their core group. The RR auction 2026 strategy would be to fill some loopholes that still exist after the retentions and releases were announced.
The team had a pretty dismal season in the 18th edition of the IPL. Sanju Samson & Co. were able to manage just four wins out of their 14 league games, and finished 9th on the points table. Any of their batters were not able to get going consistently, which cost them their campaign.
The franchise released the likes of Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Akash Madhwal amongst other names, all of which were expected.
After all the trades, retentions and releases, the Rajasthan Royals have a purse of INR 16.05 Crore, which is a respectable sum in order to plug some of their gaps which persist.
Before we delve into what the Rajasthan Royals need out of the IPL 2026 auction, we must look at how their playing XI is shaping up ahead of the 19th edition of the IPL.
The franchise are in a good space at the moment, having plugged in most of their gaps through their retentions. The biggest one to fill would be the captaincy role, which Ravindra Jadeja could be entrusted with. With that out of the way, the management would now look to get their hands on a good spinner, who can be vital for the campaign.
The pitch in Jaipur acts a bit differently than that of other venues, and this is where the Rajasthan Royals will have an advantage. They will be on the lookout for a spinner, who is quicker through the air, to gain maximum productivity from the wicket. The deliveries in Jaipur tend to stay low on the surface, which help bowlers with a quick bowling action.
Here are the positions that the RR auction 2026 strategy will include:
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Released by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Ravi Bishnoi would be one of the prime targets for the Rajasthan Royals. His style of bowling flatter trajectories, and quicker through the air would help the franchise at their home venue. To add to that, Bishnoi will be a good partner for someone like Ravindra Jadeja, who will be a great asset with the ball in the middle overs.
Though the franchise released him ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, they could go after him again if they are unable to get Ravi Bishnoi. There would be a lot of interest for Bishnoi at the auction and teams with a slightly greater purse might run away with the youngster. Hence, the Rajasthan Royals might have to settle with Hasaranga for another season.
The maiden IPL season champions have got most of their batting order sorted. However, they lack a tinge of firepower in the middle-order, which they might look to fill through David Miller. The South African middle-order batter is known for his aggressive endeavours, and might be the solution to RR’s middle-order muddles.
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