Riyan Parag has kept his cards close to his chest regarding the possibility of becoming Rajasthan Royals’ full-time captain for IPL 2026. His comments come weeks after the long-serving skipper was traded to the franchise Sanju Samson to Chennai Super Kings before the retention period.
Parag has led Assam in domestic cricket, including the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, and has previous experience at the Royals helm. In IPL 2025, he captained the team for eight matches when Samson was unavailable, even with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the team.
“I captained seven to eight matches in the IPL last season. In the dressing room, when we were analyzing the decisions, I was getting things right 80 to 85 percent of the time,” he told Sportstar.
Parag indicated that he was not thinking about the potential liability at the moment and said team owner Manoj Badale had indicated that a decision would be made after the auction, which is scheduled for December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
“Manoj (Badale) sir said that the decision (on the captaincy) will be taken after the auction. Thinking about it now, I am destroying my mental space. If the team management feels that I am suitable for the captaincy, I am ready to raise my hand. If they feel that I can contribute more as a player, I am also ready,” he said, acknowledging the challenges.
He also reflected on how captaincy goes beyond the tactical challenges on the field. “Everyone has a misconception that captaincy is easy. Yes, there is an element of glory in captaincy, but it reduces the element of cricket to 20 per cent. You have to attend all meetings, attend sponsor shoots and answer to the media. I need to develop these things as a person,” added Parag.
IS JADEJA LEADING THE ROYALS?
After Samson’s departure, Rajasthan Royals are looking for a new leader. New signing Ravindra Jadeja is one option, while the squad also includes Jaiswal and wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel, whose stock has been rising after making the Test team as a specialist batsman.
Rajasthan are unlikely to splash big money on local talent in the auction, ruling out the possibility of buying a captain.
Formerly, R. Ashwin considered the situationnoting that franchises may be hesitant to hand over management to a player in his first year with the team. Jadeja has the experience of leading Chennai Super Kings in the past, but the senior batsman would not want the added burden of captaincy in his twilight years.
Meanwhile, Samson is not ready to lead Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2026. The five-time champions have confirmed that Ruturaj Gaikwad will return as captain after missing most of last season due to injury. MS Dhoni took over in 2025 but CSK finished with the wooden spoon for the first time in their history.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
December 5, 2025
