IPL Auction | Rajasthan Royals continue endless journey in pursuit of elusive winning combination

‌In a year, the Rajasthan Royals went on a roller-coaster ride that started with a third-place finish in the Indian Premier League in the 2024 season. The franchise then named Rahul Dravid as the new coach in place of Kumar Sangakkara, only for the former Indian captain to leave after a disastrous second-from-bottom finish in the subsequent season. And in between, there was a bizarre mega auction too, where they failed to retain Jos Buttler and ended up paying a huge price for it. And the buck did not stop there either! The Jaipur-based outfit ended up trading their go-to man, skipper, most-capped player, and highest run getter in Sanju Samson. And Sangakkara was once again brought back as Head Coach ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction.

And apart from all these, RR still have holes to fill in their squad as they approach the big day with a purse of only INR 16.05 crore, the fourth lowest among the ten franchises. How can the Royals build a team that can stand the tough competition and go on to win the silverware that has eluded them for 17 seasons after winning the title in the inaugural edition in 2008? Let us find out!

Top Order 

1 Yashasvi Jaiswal 2 Vaibhav Suryavanshi 3 Riyan Parag

Backups: Lhuan-dre Pretorus

The opening duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi was the saving grace for the Royals amid all the chaos that the team was going through. Suryavanshi was fortunate enough to get a chance as he came into the side after an injury to skipper Samson. The left-handed opener quickly grabbed the opportunity with both hands to amass 252 runs in seven matches, including the breathtaking 35-ball 100 against the Gujarat Titans, at an average of 36.00 and an astronomical strike rate of 206.55.

Meanwhile, Jaiswal also raked in 559 runs in 14 games, averaging 43.00 and striking just under 160. The duo ensured that the Royals were third on the list of runs (879) and the best in terms of strike rate, at 174.40, in the first six overs. In fact, no other team could go past the 160 mark in the same period, with the Pink Brigade also being on top for most sixes (57) during the powerplay phase.

But all of just 14 years old, Suryavanshi may find it difficult in case the second season syndrome crashes in on him. Then the Royals will have a tough sailing with Lhuan-dre Pretorius being the only viable back-up option for the top order role, after Nitish Rana was traded to Delhi Capitals. The side will surely need another option up top in case an exigency turns up, as it would be harsh to expect a school-going teenager to complete an entire season without injury or drop of form.

Possible Targets: There are a number of options for top-order batters in the market, including the likes of Quinton de Kock, Ben Duckett, and Jamie Smith, who can also keep wickets. But given the side has only one overseas slot, the side can still go with domestic alternatives in Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, or Anmolpreet Singh.

Middle Order

4 Sam Curran 5 Dhruv Jurel 6 Shimron Hetmyer 7 Ravindra Jadeja 8 Shubham Dubey

Backups: Donovan Ferreira

The Samson-Jadeja-Curran trade deal has allowed the Royals to somewhat seal the cracks in the middle order from their earlier season. The side notoriously choked in the clutch moments to lose matches from winning positions, with the side becoming more and more top-heavy with every passing game. The numbers also echoed the struggles of the side in the last five overs in IPL 2025. They had the second-lowest tally of runs and strike rate from overs 15 to 20, and while also suffering the ignominy of the worst average. To add to that, the boundary count also tells a sorry story, with RR being the second lowest and third lowest in terms of fours and sixes in the death overs.

Shimron Hetmyer also had a very ordinary season last year with just 239 runs in 13 innings at an average of 21.72 and a strike rate of 145.73. But the Royals continue to place faith in the West Indies player, retaining him ahead of the auction, though they added the hard-hitting Donovan Ferreira as a backup finisher, trading him from Delhi.

But again, as in the case of the top order, the side looks shallow with its options of big hitters who can take the game away from the opponents single-handedly. The Royals can take the spin bowling all-rounder route as well, with the likes of big-hitter Liam Livingstone, who can double up as a dependable spin option too. With its overseas slot crunch, someone like Abhinav Manohar, who can bat anywhere between four and seven, fits in perfectly into the side.

Possible Targets: Liam Livingstone/ Abhinav Manohar

Bowling Attack

9 Jofra Archer 10 Yet to be picked 11 Nandre Burger 12 Sandeep Sharma

Backups: Tushar Deshpande, Yudhvir Singh, Kwena Maphaka

Signing a premier spinner will be on top of the Royals’ wishlist after the side released the Sri Lankan spin pair of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana. Leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi will be a dream signing for them, but with the stocks soaring for a marquee Indian spinner, it needs to be seen whether the Royals will have the budget to afford him amid making other additions. Though the leg-spinner had two ordinary seasons with the Lucknow Super Giants, including the worst average and economy in his entire IPL career last year, the fact that he is only 25 and teams like Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings are also on the lookout for premier spinners makes him a sure bet for a bidding war.

Bishnoi and Jadeja playing together will not only restrict the run flow in the middle overs but also allow the Royals to play both Shimron Hetmyer and Donovan Ferreira together in case a need arises. If they opt for one among Hetmyer and Ferreira, then they can play Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger together. However, both pacers have a history of fitness issues behind them, with Kwena Maphaka being the lone overseas backup option. The picture aint rosy among the Indian pace back-ups too, with Yudhvir Singh and Tushar Deshpande completing the roster of pacers. With Akash Madhwal released, the side lacks a pacer who can fire in those yorkers or bring on the variations at the death and keep batters quiet. With past IPL experience and having already turned up for RR in one of the earlier seasons, Mustafizur Rahman can be a good choice, while Matheesha Pathirana may further their already existing injury woes.

Possible Targets: Mustafizur Rahman/ Lungi Ngidi/ Ben Dwarshius/ Auqib Nabi