Rajasthan Royals (RR) announced their list of retained players for the IPL 2026 season and the most notable name missing from the previous edition is Sanju Samson. The former Royals skipper was not released but traded to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for his existing fee of Rs 18 crore in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran in a blockbuster deal. The all-rounder's price has been revised to Rs 14 crore from the previous Rs 18 crore, while Curran joined at his existing fee of Rs 2.4 crore.
If we focus on the names that have been retained, the franchise have shown faith in promising domestic talents, and have stuck with their prominent overseas players from the previous season.
A total of 13 players - eight Indians and five overseas - were retained by Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. The retained Indian group features Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh, Sandeep Sharma and Tushar Deshpande. The list of overseas comprises Shimron Hetmyer, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Jofra Archer, Kwena Maphaka and Nandre Burger.
“We are very pleased with the balance and depth of the squad following our retentions and key trades going into 2026. We’ve retained a core that understands our environment and plays the brand of cricket we believe in. The additions of Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, and Donovan Ferreira further strengthen us across most phases of the game.
“We also want to extend our gratitude to the players not retained in this cycle, and we look forward to the possibilities that the auction may bring,” Kumar Sangakkara, Director of Cricket, was quoted as saying in an official statement available on the team's website.
Players retained: Dhruv Jurel (wk), Jofra Archer, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Nandre Burger, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Tushar Deshpande, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yudhvir Singh
Players released: Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kunal Singh Rathore, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Ashok Sharma
Players traded in: Ravindra Jadeja (from Chennai Super Kings), Sam Curran (from Chennai Super Kings), Donovan Ferreira (from Delhi Capitals)
Players traded out: Sanju Samson (traded to Chennai Super Kings), Nitish Rana (traded to Delhi Capitals)
Remaining purse value: Rs 16.05 crore
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