Sanju Samson likely to lose Rajasthan Royals captaincy ahead of IPL 2026: Report

The 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) may be far away but the bells have started to ring already. The news is from the Rajasthan Royals camp yet again who saw their head coach Rahul Dravid stepping down from the role recently. The franchise, according to a report in Revsportz, is set for a change in leadership as well with Sanju Samson likely to lose captaincy.

A couple of months ago, it was revealed that all is not well between Samson and the franchise and that the former had clearly asked the the Royals management to release or trade him. It is clear now that there were no differences between Samson and Dravid and that the latter left after the franchise offered him a different ‘broader’ role during the post-season review, which he refused.

Coming back to Samson, his relationship with the Rajasthan Royals is not getting any better. The franchise can opt to keep him as a player for the next two years but not as captain. The final decision, even with regards to captaincy, rests on Royals’ principal owner Manoj Badale.

Riyan Parag or Yashasvi Jaiswal? Who could be the next RR captain?

In IPL 2025, Riyan Parag stepped up as stand-in captain whenever Sanju Samson missed matches. The latter played only nine out of 14 matches of the season due to a side strain injury. According to sources, Parag’s promotion to captaincy didn’t have Dravid’s seal of approval either but the cricketer is getting the backing to take over the leadership permanently.

But then, there is a group which is backing Yashasvi Jaiswal as the next captain of the Royals.

In any case, Samson looks certain to lose his captaincy. After taking over full-time in the 2021 season, he did a terrific job while also leading the team to the final in IPL 2022. He was retained by the franchise ahead of the 2025 mega auction for Rs 18 crore, in the top bracket. 

At the time, it seemed that Samson will lead RR for a foreseeable future. But things have changed quickly and how!

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