&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "IPL 2026 | Rajasthan Royals set to name new captain and it is not Ravindra Jadeja")
Riyan Parag is set to be named the new Rajasthan Royals captain for the IPL 2026, replacing Sanju Samson. Parag, since making his debut in IPL in 2019, has played all his career with the Royals. He also led the side in 8 matches last year with Samson out because of injury. The stint, however, ended with only two wins in those eight games but Parag did well with the bat - scoring 270 runs at an average of nearly 39 and a strike rate of 181. He also hit one fifty as the captain - 95 vs KKR in his last match during the short skipper stint.
Parag edges Jadeja, others to become RR captain
After Sanju Samson was traded to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for Ravindra Jadeja ahead of the IPL 2026 auction last year, the RR had to look for a new captain. Jadeja was definitely one of the front runners for the post, given his experience and past association with the franchise as well. Parag, however, was finalised after interview with the new coach Kumar Sangakkara.
RR was coached by Rahul Dravid last season who vacated the role after the team ended second last in the points table with just four wins in 14 matches. In IPL 2026, Royals will have a new coach as well as the captain.
Riyan Parag IPL stats and salary
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Riyan Parag has been associated with Rajasthan Royals since his debut in 2019. He gets INR 14 crore from the franchise and was retained after of the mega auction before IPL 2025 as well as mini auction last year. Overall, he has played 84 matches in IPL, all with RR, scoring 1566 runs at an average of 26 and a strike rate of nearly 142. He has also scored 7 fifties with 95 being his personal best. It is only in IPL 2025 and IPL 2026 that Parag all matches in the season. In IPL 2025, he had the best year in the tournament, scoring 573 runs at a strike rate of 140. In IPL 2026, he scored 393 runs at 166 with 270 as captain.
