Riyan Parag has saved his playing cards near his chest on the potential of turning into Rajasthan Royals’ full-time captain for IPL 2026. His feedback come weeks after the franchise traded long-time skipper. Sanju Samson to Chennai Tremendous Kings earlier than the retention deadline.
Parag has been main Assam in home cricket, together with the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, and has prior expertise on the Royals helm. In IPL 2025, he captained the aspect in eight matches when Samson was unavailable, even with Yashasvi Jaiswal within the squad.
“I captained in seven to eight matches within the IPL final season. Within the dressing room, once we would analyze selections, I’ve executed issues proper 80 to 85 per cent,” he advised Sportstar.
Parag steered he’s not overthinking the potential duty in the intervening time, saying workforce proprietor Manoj Badale had indicated {that a} choice can be made after the public sale, which is scheduled for December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
“Manoj [Badale] sir has mentioned the choice [on captaincy] will probably be taken after the public sale. If I take into consideration that now, I’ll destroy my psychological area. If the workforce administration feels I’m the appropriate match for captaincy, I’m able to put my hand up. In the event that they really feel that, as a participant, I can contribute extra, I’m prepared for that additionally,” he mentioned, acknowledging the challenges that include the job.
He additionally mirrored on how captaincy extends past tactical calls on the sector. “Everybody has the misperception that captaincy is simple. Sure, there is a component of fame in captaincy, but it surely reduces the aspect of cricket to twenty per cent. It’s a must to attend all of the conferences, attend sponsor shoots, and reply the media. I have to develop these items as an individual,” Parag added.
WILL JADEJA LEAD ROYALS?
With Samson’s exit, Rajasthan Royals are seeking a brand new chief. Newly-acquired Ravindra Jadeja is one possibility, whereas the squad additionally contains Jaiswal and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, whose shares are rising after having made the Take a look at squad as a specialist batter.
Rajasthan are unlikely to splash huge cash on an area expertise within the public sale, ruling out the potential of them shopping for a captain.
earlier, R. Ashwin weighed in on the state of affairsnoting that franchises could hesitate handy management to a participant in his first yr at a workforce.Jadeja has the expertise of main Chennai Tremendous Kings up to now, however the senior campaigner would not need the extra burden of captaincy in his twilight years.
In the meantime, Samson isn’t set to steer Chennai Tremendous Kings in IPL 2026. The five-time champions confirmed that Ruturaj Gaikwad will return as captain after lacking most of final season by way of harm. MS Dhoni took cost in 2025, however CSK completed with the picket spoon for the primary time of their historical past.
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