Former India batsman Robin Uthappa believes that Yashasvi Jaiswal may have to wait to become the Rajasthan Royals skipper. The inaugural IPL 2008 victors of the Indian Premier League (IPL) traded in Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran before the IPL 2026 auction, and the franchise also addressed a few holes in their team by adding utility players in Abu Dhabi.

In the 2025 IPL season, Riyan Parag took over as captain when Sanju Samson was sidelined, sparking rumors that some young players in the RR camp were angry and dissatisfied. With Sanju Samson moving to CSK, RR will need to choose a new captain for the IPL 2026.

Ravindra Jadeja took a significant pay cut from his INR 18 crores at CSK, accepting to be traded to RR for INR 14.20 crores. This made fans believe that captaincy might be on the table, while a discussion might have happened between Jadeja and RR.

Jaiswal may be put on the back burner since Uthappa believes that Parag and Jadeja are the front-runners for the RR captaincy.

“The advantage Rajasthan Royals have is the fact that they have 10 fast bowlers, offering a lot of options. If they bowl in the right areas at SMS Stadium, Jaipur, they can be very successful. With spinners like Bishnoi and Jadeja, support from Shimron Hetmyer and Donovan Ferreira, and depth in the batting order with Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag, they now have a well-rounded team,” said Uthappa on JioStar’s ‘TATA IPL Auction Review.’

"The only question is leadership. My feeling is the captaincy will likely be between Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja, while Jaiswal might need to wait a bit longer," he added.

Former India spinner and Test captain Anil Kumble believes that the captaincy would be the most important factor, and it remains to be seen who the Royals select as their next leader.

“When you look at this lineup, the captaincy will be the most decisive factor. If you want to replicate the kind of personality Sanju Samson brought to Rajasthan Royals, Dhruv Jurel is probably the closest match.

Beyond that, the squad is strong, with talented youngsters, proven players, and all-rounders. Fitness of key players like Jofra Archer at the start of IPL is also crucial. Ultimately, the management needs to identify and communicate who the captain will be,” said Kumble.

Rajasthan Royals acquired some big names in the IPL 2026 auction, including Ravi Bishnoi, Adam Milne, Kuldeep Sen, and Vignesh Puthur.