Rajasthan Royals were fueled mainly by the performances of youngsters in IPL 2025, despite their 9th place finish in the season. Comprising of young guns like Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal and so on, the one-time IPL champions are among a few IPL sides who have been open to handing over the baton early to the youngsters and grooming them for the future. November 15 is the deadline for teams to finalize on retentions, following which the IPL 2026 mini-auction will be held in the December 13-15 window.
Most of RR’s retentions in terms of youngsters will be a no-brainer, for all of them were standout stars for the side in IPL 2025. Ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction, let’s take a look at five youngsters that RR should retain.
5 youngsters that RR should retain for IPL 2026
1. Vaibhav Suryavanshi
The 14-year-old not only created history by becoming the youngest player to feature in the IPL but also made instant impact on his arrival in RR. The youngster amassed 252 runs in 7 matches, averaging 36. He struck one half-century and was not only the youngest centurion in the league but struck one of the fastest ones (off 38 deliveries). He is a sure-shot retention for RR before IPL 2026, given his meteoric rise over the last couple of years.
2. Yashasvi Jaiswal
The youngster was retained for a whopping sum of Rs 18 crore before the mega auction and aptly justified his price tag in IPL 2025. An integral part of RR and their first-choice opener, Jaiswal amassed 559 runs from 14 matches, averaging 43. The Mumbai batter already has over 2000 runs in the IPL from just 67 games.
3. Dhruv Jurel
Another sure-shot retention for RR is the keeper-batter who has grown leaps and bounds with each passing year. Jurel clocked his best-ever season in IPL 2025, amassing 333 runs from 14 games and proving to be Mr Dependable for RR in the middle-order in the future. Like Jaiswal, he too was retained before the mega auction and will surely be retained for IPL 2026 as well.
4. Kumar Karthikeya Singh
The 28-year-old pacer made minimum impact in IPL 2025, having picked up just 2 wickets in 4 matches. However, he is one of the very few young Indian uncapped players who are a part of RR’s pace department. The team will want to groom him into a future spearhead of their fast-bowling unit and won’t mind retaining him.
5. Yudhvir Singh Charak
Like Karthikeya, the right-arm medium fast bowler was also given limited opportunities in IPL 2025 but did well to provide a glimpse of his capabilities. In four matches, he picked up as many wickets while being a tad bit expensive. RR won’t mind having him in their squad as he is an all-rounder as well and could come of good use for the side in the future.
