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Rajasthan Royals (RR) principal owner Manoj Badale opened up on key issues regarding the team ahead of the IPL 2026 season. Badale has backed Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara’s promotion to head coach after serving as director of cricket and dismissed speculation about selling the team.
Rajasthan Royals have appointed Kumar Sangakkara as their head coach. He will assume the dual role of head coach and director of cricket. Rahul Dravid resigned after a disastrous 2025 season. The Jaipur-based team has just four wins from 14 games and is ninth in the table.
It was a tough decision – Manoj Badale on Kumar Sangakkara replacing Rahul Dravid
Manoj Badale said the decision to appoint Kumar Sangakkara was aimed at “simplification” and not to judge Rahul Dravid’s performance. He described the call as difficult. Badal also called Dravid one of the best coaches in India.
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“It’s a tough decision. It’s not a new coach; Kumar has coached us before. It’s really about simplicity. No judgment on Rahul, I think he’s still probably one of the greatest coaches in India. So, yes, it’s tough, but it’s a decision and it’s been made.”
Dravid is still with the Royals despite a knee injury that has forced him to use crutches throughout the season. Although the team later offered to expand his role, Dravid decided against it and chose to resign as head coach.
It has been running for 17 years, nothing new – Manoj Badale
Manoj Badal has refuted speculations that Rajasthan Royals are being sold, saying such rumors have been repeated over the years but are not true. He called it routine rather than real progress.
“It’s been around for 17 years and there’s nothing new,” Badale said, clarifying that it was just a hypothesis.
Ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, the franchise has taken a bold decision in its lineup. One of the biggest moves was the trade of long-time captain Sanju Samson to the Chennai Super Kings. However, Rajasthan received Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja in return ahead of the mini-auction.
Rajasthan Royals signs nine players in IPL 2026 auction
Rajasthan Royals signed nine players at the IPL 2026 auction held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16. They have Rs 16.05 crore in their wallet and 9 vacant posts to be filled, including 1 overseas post.
After a fierce bidding war with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), Royals have signed Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi for Rs 74 crore to strengthen their bowling attack.
Rajasthan added uncapped players Sushant Mishra, Vignesh Puthur and Yash Raj Punja. They then went head-to-head with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and locked in another uncapped player, Ravi Singh.
They also signed Aman Rao, Brijesh Sharma and Kuldeep Sen to add depth to the squad. Their only overseas purchase was in the acceleration round, when they selected New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne.
