IPL 2026: Riyan Parag set to be named Rajasthan Royals captain

Star all-rounder Riyan Parag is likely to be named the new skipper of the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026. The franchise has come to a decision after the head coach-cum-director of cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, had interviewed several players, and Parag was the most suitable candidate they finalised for leading the team in the marquee 20-over tournament.

With Sanju Samson traded to Chennai Super Kings, it was inevitable that the Jaipur-based franchise was looking for a new captain. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, and Ravindra Jadeja had come to the fore as the strongest contenders for the role along with Parag, but the all-rounder has eclipsed all to fill the void in a full-time capacity.

Notably, this is not the first time that Parag will be seen donning the captain's hat for RR; he has done so during the eight matches of IPL 2025 where Samson could not be available, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. Although the Guwahati-born managed to lead RR to victories in only a couple of these matches, it was his batting that shone the brightest, including his best of 95 against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Captaining RR is not the only leadership experience in Parag's CV. He has been a long-time captain for Assam in domestic cricket and has been impressive with his fearless and tactical approach across all three formats of the game. Strong showings in domestics and IPL also helped the youngster earn his India cap, but he had been away from cricket for quite some time due to a recurring shoulder injury.

As the IPL 2026 season beckons, the Royals will be looking to add the second trophy to their cabinet, which has been under drought since their maiden title during the inaugural 2008 season, which they had won under the captaincy of the legendary Shane Warne.

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India will soon announce the official schedule for the 2026 season. The organisers are currently awaiting fixation of dates after careful consideration of not clashing them with the election dates in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal – home to CSK and KKR, respectively. The upcoming edition is slated to begin in late March and last until late May or early June.

Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2026

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Nandre Burger, Sam Curran, Adam Milne, Kwena Maphaka, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Donovan Ferreira, Ravi Singh, Shubham Dubey, Kuldeep Sen, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Vignesh Puthur, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma, Aman Rao