Rajasthan Royals have finalised their retained and released players ahead of the IPL 2026 mega auction, with the high-profile trade of Ravindra Jadeja and Sanju Samson making headlines. In a blockbuster deal, Sanju Samson, who has been the backbone of Rajasthan Royals over the years, has been traded to five-time champions Chennai Super Kings. In return, RR secured the services of Men in Yellow legend Ravindra Jadeja along with England all-rounder Sam Curran. Samson will represent CSK at his existing league fee of INR 18 crore, while Jadeja’s fee has been revised from INR 18 crore to INR 14 crore. Curran moves to RR at his current price of INR 2.4 crore.
RR also traded left-handed batter Nitish Rana to Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals sent South African all-rounder Donovan Ferreira to Rajasthan Royals, his first IPL franchise. Rana’s fee remains INR 4.2 crore, while Ferreira’s fee has been revised from INR 75 lakh to INR 1 crore.
| Released Players |
|---|
| Kunal Rathore |
| Nitish Rana (trade to DC) |
| Sanju Samson (trade to CSK) |
| Wanindu Hasranga |
| Maheesh Teekshana |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi |
| Ashok Sharma |
| Kumar Kartikeya |
| Akash Madhwal |
| Retained Players |
|---|
| Yashasvi Jaiswal |
| Shimron Hetmyer |
| Vaibhav Suryavanshi |
| Luhan dre Pretorius |
| Shubham Dube |
| Donovan Ferreira (trade from DC) |
| Dhruv Jurel |
| Ravindra Jadeja (trade from CSK) |
| Sam Curran |
| Riyan Parag |
| Jofra Archer |
| Sandeep Sharma |
| Nandre Burger |
| Tushar Deshpande |
| Kewna Maphaka |
| Yudhvir Singh |
Rajasthan Royals will enter the IPL 2026 auction with ₹16.05 crore in their purse, nine slots to fill, and one overseas player spot available. This comes after a disappointing IPL 2025 season where RR finished in 9th position.
