 "Rajasthan Royals finished second from bottom last season. Reuters")
Rajasthan Royals’ list of retained and released players IPL 2026: Rajasthan Royals’ wait to double up their title count continued in 2025 as well. Led by Sanju Samson, RR had an underwhelming season where they finished second from bottom, only separated by the wooden spoon holders, Chennai Super Kings, by net run rate.
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Key concern for RR last year was the inability of their batters to finish off games. Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer consistently failed to close matches that should have gone in RR’s favour. RR bowling unit also looked weak except Jofra Archer with the Sri Lankan spin duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana failing to make an impact.
RR also gave IPL its greatest discovery last year: Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The 14-year-old will now be expected to take up a bigger role in the RR batting line-up this season.
RR’s list of retained players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Shubham Dubey, Lhuan Dre-Pretorius, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Yudhvir Singh, Kwen Maphaka, Nandre Burger, Ravindra Jadeja (traded from CSK), Sam Curran (traded from CSK), Donovan Ferreira (traded from DC)
Rajasthan Royals players trade: Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 14 crore), Sam Curran (Rs 2.4 crore) and Donovon Ferreira (Rs 1 crore) traded in from Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, respectively. Sanju Samson (Rs 18 crore) and Nitish Rana (Rs 4.2 crore) traded out to CSK and DC, respectively.
Rajasthan Royals released players: Kunal Singh Rathore, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Akash Madhwal, Ashok Sharma, Kumar Kartikeya
Rajasthan Royals remaining slots: 9 (1 overseas)
Rajasthan Royals (RR) purse remaining for IPL 2026 auction: Rs 16.05 crore