Rajasthan Royals contemplate squad changes ahead of IPL 2026

Rajasthan Royals might be revisiting their squad composition for the 2026 IPL, with at least six of their players attracting trade-off interest from various franchises.

Although no names have been made public by RR, one of the players, who will be much in demand for a trade-off is their longtime skipper Sanju Samson. Whether Samson and RR mutually decide to part ways isn't known but Royals do have a second equally potent option in Dhruv Jurel in its ranks.

Two teams, in particular, need a potent wicket-keeper batter. Chennai Super Kings, whose icon player Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be a few months shy off his 45th birthday when next edition of IPL starts, could be looking for options.

The other team could be Kolkata Knight Riders, who are unlikely to repose much faith in Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz for an entire duration of the tournament.

While multiple calls to CSK CEO Kashi Viswanathan went unanswered, sources in Rajasthan Royals were also not forthcoming about the talks of trade-off on specific individuals.

The trading window for IPL teams opened from June 4, a day after the 2025 final ended and will remain open a week before the date of the 2026 players' auction. Once the players' auction gets over, the window will open again and will close exactly one month before start of next season.

There are multiple kinds of trade-offs — swapping players at the same price; swapping players where the franchise possessing the player with the higher amount receives the balance; and an all-cash, one-way deal where a franchise sells a player to increase its purse before the auction.

"There have been multiple approaches by multiple franchises for about six of our players. Similarly we have approached multiple franchises for multiple options," a source close to the Royals told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

"The bottom line in trades is that every team is open to anything that will strengthen their team, don’t think RR will be any different. There are multiple owners who touch base with each other on trades on a regular basis," the source added.

Samson has been integral to the Royals set-up for years, but with Riyan Parag emerging as a potential leadership option, it remains to be seen if the Kerala batter will look for greener pastures.

Riyan captained RR last season when Samson was injured, and many eyebrows were raised when he was chosen ahead of Indian cricket’s current batting sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal, whose body of work is far superior to that of the Assam youngster.

However, with the Royals having a second base in Guwahati, Riyan remains a strong leadership option to strengthen their support base in that region.