Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag (PTI Photo) Former India batsman Aakash Chopra has flagged potential concerns for Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of IPL 2026, pointing to their young and relatively inexperienced batting unit as a key challenge. Royals made a major bid ahead of the auction by trading Sanju Samson to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), bringing in Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja in return. The Royals also traded Nitish Rana to the Delhi Capitals and acquired Donovan Ferreira via trade.
Watch
Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag watches West Ham vs Man City in London A young batting core under the spotlight In a video on his YouTube channel, “Aakash Chopra” noted that RR’s batting core includes young names like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel. “You can call it weaknesses or challenges. The batting line-up is extremely young. Yashasvi Jaiswal is experienced but he is still young. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is batting a lot but he is a young guy. Dhruv Jurel has huge potential but he is still unproven in the IPL as he has not scored there,” he said. Experience gaps growing concerns Chopra also pointed out that while Riyan Parag has shown promise, he is yet to make his mark internationally. He added that Shimron Hetmyer’s role could be in jeopardy as RR may not be able to use him in his preferred batting position. Notably, Parag is set to captain the Royals in the IPL 2026 season. “Riyan Parag has shown a lot of promise and potential, but he is not an established international star. Shimron Hetmyer is definitely there, but the number he batted at for the West Indies is not available. Whatever you do, you will not be able to play him there. Donovan Ferreira has limited international experience,” he clarified. Summarizing the batting concerns, Chopra highlighted that while there is plenty of promise, the lack of international exposure in the top order could prove tricky. “When I look at the top six, there’s a lot of potential, but the international experience is very, very limited, except for Shimron Hetmyer, who they won’t be able to give the number he’s been successful at. So that’s a bit of a challenge,” Chopra noted. Hetmyer, in particular, was one of West Indies’ standout performers at the 2026 T20 World Cup, scoring 248 runs at 186.46 in seven innings while batting at No.3 – a role he is unlikely to repeat for RR. The spin attack faces concerns Chopra also identified spin bowling as another area of concern, citing the recent form of key players. “Spin bowling stock has definitely gone up but the current form is a bit of a concern and that’s a bit of a concern. It may not be a problem but I look at it as a challenge. Ravi Bishnoi’s last year was extremely cold. That’s why he was dropped. Great addition but recent form is not great,” he said. He further added that Jadeja, despite his pedigree, has not been at his best when it comes to wicket-taking in the T20 format in recent seasons. “Ravindra Jadeja, again a great addition but his current form in T20 cricket in terms of wicket-taking is not great if you look at his bowling for CSK in the last two years. So you certainly have two good spinners but their current form is not their friend. You can see it as a challenge,” remarked Chopra. Bishnoi took nine wickets in 11 innings during IPL 2025 and conceded runs at an economy rate of 10.83. Jadeja, meanwhile, picked up 10 wickets in 14 matches, with an economy rate of 8.56 last season.
