Rajasthan Royals Preparing to Name Riyan Parag as Captain

Riyan Parag is set to assume the mantle of a new captain at Rajasthan Royals ahead of the rescheduled IPL 2026 auction. Parag emerges as the new captain following Sanju Samson's shift to the Chennai Super Kings camp. In a blockbuster deal, the Royals traded Samson to the Super Kings in return for the services of two accomplished all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.

Riyan Parag, at the age of 24, has some pastoral experience under his belt with the Rajasthan Royals. He took on the role of captain last season as Sanju Samson was not present, owing to injuries during eight games. Parag led the side during those games, but the team could only manage to win two of them.

Parag's Overall Performance Till Now

ESPNcricinfo quotes that Riyan Parag had been among a handful of players who had been interviewed by the team’s head coach, Kumar Sangakkara, before he was officially chosen to lead the team. After assessing the available candidates, they decided to make Riyan Parag the leader.

This marks a new beginning for the Royals, too, who now get to see a new captain and a new head coach in the journey. Rahul Dravid left the team in the aftermath of the 2025 season, a disappointing season for the Royals, who finished second last with just four wins in 14 matches.

Since his IPL debut in 2019, Riyan Parag has been an integral part of the Rajasthan Royals, participating in each of the last seven IPL seasons for the team. He has been a part of all the matches over the last two seasons, which shows that the team trusts him immensely.

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However, the 2024 season was the most prolific for him with the bat. In this season, he aggregated 573 runs at an average of 52.09 and a strike rate of 149.21. In total, Parag has played 84 games for RR. In these games, he scored 1,566 runs and took 7 wickets.

With the bat, though, he made an impact, with a healthy average of 38.57 in this period. His finest performance came at Eden Gardens, where he scored his best career haul of 95 for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Meanwhile, Sanju Samson spent 11 seasons with the Royals. Nevertheless, after his recent stint in the IPL tournament, he pointed out that he is prepared for a new challenge and thus asked the franchise to release him.