Rajasthan Royals announce Dasun Shanaka as replacement for Sam Curran

Rajasthan Royals today announced Sri Lankan all-rounder and T20I captain Dasun Shanaka as the replacement for Sam Curran for the Indian Premier League 2026 season, following an injury to the English all-rounder. 

“We are disappointed to lose a player of Sam’s calibre so close to the start of the season,” said Kumar Sangakkara, Director of Cricket and Head Coach, Rajasthan Royals. 

“Sam brings immense value with both bat and ball. However, we are pleased to have found an ideal replacement in Dasun Shanaka, a finisher with the bat and a quality all-rounder who helps maintain the balance of our side,” he added.

Dasun Shanaka brings vast experience and composure to the Royals’ lower-middle order, having been a consistent performer for Sri Lanka in T20 Internationals. 

Rajasthan Royals will play their season opener against CSK at the ACA Stadium, Guwahati, on March 30, 2026.

Shanaka will join RR for INR 2 Crore as a replacement for Curran. The Sri Lankan has represented the nation in 6 Tests, 71 ODIs and 131 T20Is and has over 3350 international runs and 86 wickets in international cricket against his name.

Rajasthan Royals Squad:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Nandre Burger, Dasun Shanaka, 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