The inaugural IPL winners, Rajasthan Royals are all set for the mini auction, with Kumar Sangakara coming back again as the head coach after 2024 season. RR also ropes in two former CSK’s all rounders in the form of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran through player swap trade as they let go their captain Sanju Samson to CSK, while Donovan Ferreira was traded from DC in the place of Nitish Ranal.
RR have retained their core of both Indian and Overseas players from the last season. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Tushar Deshpande, Jofra Archer, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre burger and Shimron Hetmyer is coming back again to don the pink jersey for another season.
However, the Lankan spin duo of Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasranga along with Afghan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi and Indian domestic players like Akash Madhwal and Kumar Kartikeya is released from the team.
Auction Strategy
Rajasthan’s first and foremost problem is they don’t have any proper spinner apart from Jadeja in the squad and RR is in desperate need of an Spinner specially Indian. Apart from this, they need to fill some replacement gaps of Shimron Hetmyer and Sam Curran.
Top Indians Options Available
Ravi Bishnoi
There is a high chance that RR will target Ravi Bishnoi as their prime pick from the mini auction. Bishnoi was released from the LSG’s squad after his poor performance in the last season. In 11 innings, he picked only 9 wickets that too with an economy rate of 10.84. However, his overall stats in the IPL is on the mark.
Akash Deep
As they let go Akash Madhwal, they need to get someone who can fill this slot and Akash is just like to like and perfect replacement for Madhwal. However, Akash Deep’s IPL stats are not so impressive but as it is a mini auction so supply and demand will come into play.
Karthik Sharma
Sanju and Nitish are traded to CSK and DC respectively and now RR wants to target an Indian batter who can bat anywhere in top 6. Karthik is a priority pick for the role. Karthik bats at an impressive strike rate of 164 and a genuine power hitter and a reliable Indian Batter is a need of the hour for RR.
Top Overseas Options
David Miller
A former Royal is again on the radar of Royals. The Protean stalwart might return to Rajasthan Royals after the 2021 season. Miller is a proven T20 legend and a finisher who can easily replace Shimeron Hetmyer.
In 143 matches he played in IPL, Miller scored 3077 runs at a strike rate of 138.60 with 13 fifty plus scores and one century against RCB. David Miller’s stats are evident of how crucial he is for any team.
Adam Zampa
The Australian leg spinner is also on the radar of Rajasthan Royals as they already released the Lankan spin duo of Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga, they’ll definitely target him. Well, Zampa’s stats in T20s is not so top notch but his experience and skill set makes him a valuable asset.
RR Retained Players for IPL 2026
Dhruv Jurel, Donovan Ferreira (T), Jofra Archer, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-Dre Pretorious, Nandre Burger, Ravindra Jadeja (T), Riyan Parag, Sam Curran (T), Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Tushar Deshpande, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Yudhvir Charak
