Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sanju Samson parted ways before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. Yashasvi Jaiswal had already cemented himself as one of the best openers in the league. 14-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s emergence took away the second opener spot. Meanwhile, Riyan Parag was coming of age as a batter and was ready to take over as captain.
Sensing this, Samson and RR mutually decided to do their best to move on. So, Parag took on the role of the leader. But who’ll be taking over Samson’s number 3 spot? The wicketkeeper batted 144 times for Rajasthan. 88 of these innings came at one down. It won’t be easy to replace Samson the batter.
Who replaces Sanju Samson at 3?
So, who’ll do it? Well, one option is Parag. He’s got that pedigree. But the sample size, just 5 innings, doesn’t back this. Number four is his spot; he showed that last IPL season. Dhruv Jurel and Donovan Ferreira are the other options since Sam Curran has been ruled out. Jurel hasn’t batted there once. Ferreira has played just 3 matches in his IPL career.
The best option, which recent results reflect as well, is Shimron Hetmyer. The West Indian underperformed last year. Some even wanted RR to release him. But they stuck with Hetty. And it will pay off now. In the T20 World Cup 2026, he batted 7 times at various positions and managed to score 248 runs at 41.33 with a strike rate of 186.46. Surely, he gets that role.
Predicted Rajasthan Royals Playing XI for IPL 2026
| S. No. | Player | Backup |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Aman Rao |
| 2 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | |
| 3 | Shimron Hetmyer✈️ | Lhuan-Dre Pretorious✈️ |
| 4 | Riyan Parag (c) | |
| 5 | Dhruv Jurel (wk) | Ravi Singh (wk) |
| 6 | Donovan Ferreira✈️ | Dasun Shanaka✈️ |
| 7 | Shubham Dubey | |
| 8 | Ravindra Jadeja | |
| 9 | Ravi Bishnoi | Yash Raj Punja/ Vignesh Puthur |
| 10 | Nandre Burger✈️ | Sushant Mishra/ Yudhvir Charak/ Tushar Deshpande |
| 11 | Jofra Archer✈️ | Adam Milne✈️/ Kwena Maphaka✈️ |
| Impact Sub | Sandeep Sharma | Kuldeep Sen/ Brijesh Sharma |
No room for Shanaka
Once that is settled, Parag and Jurel are perfect for four and five. Ferreira and Shubham Dubey will have to be the finishers. The latter was woeful last season, but RR doesn’t have any other finishers. Dasun Shanaka is the other option, who replaced Curran, in place of Ferreira, but his performance in the IPL hasn’t been great, and Ferreira can be used for an over or two of off-spin.
Burger with Archer
Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, and Jofra Archer are immediate picks for bowlers. Nandre Burger’s left-arm pace will come in handy. He’s excellent with the new ball, and Sandeep Sharma can be used as the impact substitute for the middle and death overs. Parag and Ferreira can both chip in, depending on the pitch and output of other bowlers.
Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2026
Batters: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravi Singh (wk), Lhuan-dre Pretorius (wk)✈️, Shimron Hetmyer✈️, Shubham Dubey, Aman Rao
All-rounders: Riyan Parag (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka✈️, Donovan Ferreira (wk)✈️
Bowlers: Jofra Archer✈️, Ravi Bishnoi, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Nandre Burger✈️, Kwena Maphaka✈️, Adam Milne✈️, Kuldeep Sen, Vignesh Puthur, Brijesh Sharma, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punja
Cricket
KKR name Harshit Rana's replacement finally, Delhi mate Navdeep Saini acquired for INR 75 lakh
