Who is the new captain of Rajasthan Royals? (Photo- PTI)
Rajasthan Royals New captain: Before IPL 2026, Rajasthan Royals team is going to get a new captain. This decision is being taken due to major changes after the last season. Sanju Samson, who has been leading Rajasthan for the last several seasons, has now moved to Chennai Super Kings. Samson missed 8 matches due to injury in 2025 and the team finished second from the bottom after winning only 4 matches. After which Samson himself expressed his desire for change and he was sent to CSK through trade. Now the team will take the field with a new captain.
Who is the new captain of Rajasthan Royals?
According to a report by ESPN Cricinfo, Rajasthan Royals have chosen a new captain for IPL 2026. 24 year old young star Riyan Parag is being given the command of the team. Riyan Parag has been associated with Rajasthan Royals since 2019. Last season, when Sanju Samson was injured, Parag captained in 8 matches and won 2 matches. He performed well during that period, which included an inning of 95 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders.
According to the report, before the team management took this decision, head coach Kumar Sangakkara talked to many players and took interviews. In this, pollen was found to be most suitable. This is also the beginning of a new era for RR, because after the departure of Rahul Dravid, Sangakkara is now the head coach and the captaincy is also new. That means the new pair of Rajasthan Royals will now try to end the title drought. Rajasthan has not won the title even once after the first season.
Performance so far in IPL
Riyan Parag has played 84 matches in IPL so far, in which he scored 1566 runs and also took 7 wickets. His most brilliant season was in 2024, where he scored 573 runs. During this period, his average was 52.09 and strike rate was 149.21, last season also he had scored 393 runs. These runs came with a strike rate of 166.52.
