Rajasthan Royals enter the IPL 2026 mini-auction with a healthy purse of Rs 16.05 crore, nine slots to fill, and just one overseas vacancy, making their strategy clearly centred around strengthening their Indian core. With several big-ticket acquisitions already completed, RR’s auction approach will be about fixing specific gaps rather than wholesale changes.
Rajasthan Royals squad overview
Probable playing XII:
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sam Curran, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Wrist spinner, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma
Other squad members:
Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Nandre Burger, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Charak
What Rajasthan Royals need at the auction
The acquisitions of Sam Curran, Donovan Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja have significantly strengthened Rajasthan Royals’ all-round balance. However, the most glaring hole in their squad remains the absence of a frontline wrist spinner. With RR historically thriving on strong spin combinations, the franchise will look to recreate the success of the R Ashwin–Yuzvendra Chahal pairing from 2022 to 2024. Identifying a reliable Indian wrist spinner is therefore their top priority.
With Sanju Samson traded out, RR will also require an Indian wicketkeeper as backup to Dhruv Jurel. While Jurel is firmly first choice, the long IPL season demands depth, especially given the impact player rule and the possibility of injuries.
Bowling performance in key phases is another concern. Rajasthan Royals were the poorest-performing side with the ball in both the middle overs and death overs last season, a statistic that will weigh heavily on their auction planning. While Archer, Sandeep Sharma and Tushar Deshpande provide experience, RR may look to add domestic pace depth to manage workloads more effectively.
Batting depth is the final area of focus. With several Indian slots to fill, RR will look to add capable domestic batters who can strengthen the bench. If they succeed on that front, the Royals will have the tactical flexibility to rotate one of Shimron Hetmyer or Donovan Ferreira and potentially deploy an overseas seamer depending on match conditions.
Potential targets for Rajasthan Royals
Given their needs and limited overseas flexibility, RR’s shopping list is expected to focus heavily on Indian talent:
- Ravi Bishnoi – first-choice option to lead the wrist-spin department
- Rahul Chahar – experienced IPL leg-spinner with proven middle-overs control
- Vignesh Puthur – emerging wrist-spinner with long-term upside
- Yash Raj Punja – domestic pace option to improve death-overs depth
- Sarfaraz Khan – middle-order batting depth and spin-hitting option
- Kartik Sharma – Indian wicketkeeper-batter cover
- Tushar Raheja – aggressive domestic batting option
- Salman Nizar – reliable domestic middle-order reinforcement
Auction outlook
Rajasthan Royals are well placed to build a strong Indian spine at this auction. With most overseas roles already covered, their success will hinge on landing the right wrist spinner and domestic batting depth. If RR can address their middle-overs bowling concerns and add quality local backups, they will once again shape up as a balanced and dangerous side going into IPL 2026.
