IPL Retentions Preview | Rajasthan Royals left with huge decision to make after Sanju Samson saga
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Rajasthan Royals finished ninth in the points table after a forgettable campaign in IPL 2025. And to make matters worse, there are strong rumours of captain Sanju Samson requesting the franchise to release him, leaving the side with important decisions to make with an eye on the future.
And the Jaipur-based team has more questions to answer, with the IPL 2026 mini auction fast approaching. And the most important among them would be the future of their longest-serving player and current captain, Sanju Samson, who, as per the grapevine, has asked the franchise to release him.
Having already parted ways with one of their most consistent performer in Buttler ahead of IPL 2025, the Royals cannot afford to lose Sanju Samson, their most capped player, current captain, and one of the most influential figures in the dressing room. The wicketkeeper-batter is also their highest run-getter with 4,219 runs from 150 innings at an average of just under 32.00 and a strike rate of 140.53. Stand-in skipper Riyan Parag looked like a fish out of water in the games he led the side, and is surely a work in progress as captain of the franchise. Even outside the cricketing field, Samson has played a huge part in enhancing the brand of the franchise, creating a mass fanbase for them.
The silver lining for Royals is the manner in which young Vaibhav Suryavanshi started off his career in one of the toughest franchise leagues across the globe. Apart from a groundbreaking century, Suryavanshi formed a potent opening pair for Royals with Yashasvi Jaiswal, averaging 36.00 with an astonishing strike rate of 206.55 in the seven matches he played.
RR showed enormous faith in Shimron Hetmyer when they retained him for INR 11 crore ahead of the mega auction last year. But the southpaw looked underwhelming in the finisher role and will be one of the side’s top priority releases this year. Tushar Deshpande is another candidate who might be on his way out after failing to justify his pay cheque of INR 6.5 crore. The Mumbai pacer was expensive, conceding 10.62 runs in an over in IPL 2025 and averaging 37.77 for his nine wickets in 10 matches.
The Royals’ overall salary bill stands at INR 123.5 crore, and with a cap of 120, they will be tempted to drop a few more fringe players from their squad to go after new signings and remain under the pay bill threshold. Nitish Rana (INR 4 crore) and Fazalhaq Farooqi (INR 2 crore) are some of the names that may get the axe if the management decides to free up funds for marquee signings.
With the Royals losing five matches from winning positions in the chase during the league stage earlier this season, the finisher slot is the most sought-after area of reinforcement for the side. A balance of around INR 20 crore, provided they release the above-discussed players, will help them to go all-out for a batter who can win the games with their might in the death overs.
If the Royals choose to part ways with Samson, then the entire batting order will move a place up with Parag and Dhruv Jurel expected to bat at three and four, respectively, below Jaiswal and Suryavanshi. That will require the side to reinforce their lower middle order, an area that haunted them throughout last season.
Tristan Stubbs and Rovman Powell are the potential targets for the Pinks, if at all they get released by Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders, respectively. A pace bowling all-rounder, who can make it big at the death and chip away with some overs, is also another exciting prospect that the Royals would be thinking of. Marcus Stoinis, if released by Punjab Kings, may fit in perfectly and give that additional depth to the side, also solving their finishing woes.
On the bowling front, Jofra Archer is expected to spearhead the attack once again with Sandeep Sharma and Nandre Burger for company. The spin twins Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana were inconsistent, but the management will place faith in their experience to expect better returns from them in the next season.
The side may strengthen their pace battery with an Indian pacer to fill in Deshpande’s shoes, but that will depend on how much they will have to shell out for signing the finisher. T Natarajan and Yash Thakur are some of the names doing the rounds in the pace-bowling territory, provided they have room for new signings.
Probable RR XII: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Nitish Rana, Finisher(*), Shubham Dubey, Wanindu Hasaranga/Maheesh Theekshana*, Jofra Archer*, Sandeep Sharma, Nandre Burger*, Kumar Kartikeya
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