&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "IPL 2026: Rajasthan Royals appoint Director of Cricket Sangakkara as head coach")
Kumar Sangakkara is back as Rajasthan Royals head coach. The Sri Lankan great, who held the same role with the IPL franchise from 2021 to 2024, is already their Director of Cricket as well. Sangakkara replaces Rahul Dravid as head coach. Dravid had joined the franchise after quitting as India head coach in June 2024. Under Sangakkara, Royals played in the IPL 2022 final and reached the playoffs in 2024. His coaching staff includes Vikram Rathour as lead assistant coach, Shane Bond as bowling coach, Trevor Penney as assistant coach and Sid Lahiri as performance coach.
Royals leadership back Sangakkara as leader
"As we looked at what the team needed at this stage, we felt that his familiarity within the squad, his leadership and his deep understanding of the Royals culture would bring the right balance of continuity and stability. Kumar has always had our complete trust as a leader. His clarity, calmness and cricketing intelligence will play an important role in guiding the squad into this next phase," said lead owner of Royals Manoj Badale.
RR going under a slurry of changes
The Royals are undergoing a lot of changes ahead of the upcoming December 16 mini-auction. In addition to the new coach for the upcoming season, RR will also have new captain. The Royals have traded their long-time skipper Sanju Samson to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a mega trade ahead of the recently passes retention-day deadline.
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The Royals got Ravindra Jadeja from CSK along with Sam Curran. Notably, Jadeja had started his IPL career with the Royals before moving to CSK where he became a core player. With Samson out, RR will also need to look for a wicketkeeper-batter in the upcoming auction.
