IPL 2026 Auction: Rajasthan Royals (RR) entered the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction with a remaining purse of Rs 16.05 crore. The auction saw intense action early on, particularly around the acquisition of star spinner Ravi Bishnoi. The leg-spinner sparked a fierce bidding war among several major franchises. Ultimately, RR successfully secured his services for a whopping sum of Rs 7.20 crore. Their pursuit involved battling strong bids from both Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the latter of whom dropped out after placing a final bid of Rs 7 crore.
This high-profile signing follows a series of calculated strategic moves by RR aimed at restructuring their team dynamics. Last month, RR made a blockbuster trade, exchanging their long-standing captain Sanju Samson for CSK's veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and star player Sam Curran. This signals a dual strategy focused on both maximizing player experience for longevity and injecting young energy into the squad. RR also opted to retain their core young batting talent, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, and the highly publicized 14-year-old sensation, Vaibhav Suryavanshi. To accommodate these changes and manage their purse, the team released several notable international players, including Sri Lankan bowlers Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga.
RR's top picks at IPL 2026 auction:
Ravi Bishnoi (Rs 7.20 crore)
Sushant Mishra
Yash Raj Punja
Vignesh Puthur
Ravi Singh
RR's purse remaining:
Rs. 6.4 crore
List of RR's retained players:
Ravindra Jadeja (from Chennai Super Kings), Sam Curran (from Chennai Super Kings), Donovan Ferreira (from Delhi Capitals), Sandeep Sharma, Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger.