‘Thought Ravindra Jadeja Would Be The Captain Of Rajasthan Royals’: India Great’s Blunt View

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 will be a new test for Riyan Parag. The player will be leading Rajasthan Royals (RR) after the side traded its former captain Sanju Samson to Chennai Super Kings for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. It was a move that took place before the auction in Abu Dhabi last December. While Parag had already led RR in a few games in the absence of Samson due to injury, this will be the first time that he will take up the role on a full-time basis.

Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin said that the task is cut out for Parag. He added that he thought RR would appoint Jadeja as their captain.

“Riyan Parag has captained Assam in domestic cricket. RR are a very systematic team; they would have interviewed him before making him the captain. I just hope they also put Yashasvi Jaiswal in the same pedigree and trust him to be the captain in the future. Somewhere in my head, I thought Ravindra Jadeja would be the captain. They could have made him the captain and chosen Riyan as the vice-captain,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“Riyan is still young, but he has played a decade of IPL cricket. It is such a big thing. I think Riyan, the captain, would have his task cut out. It is not that easy. Many youngsters want the captaincy in the IPL. They compete for it, they try and go hard for it. Handling an entire season, handling the roller coaster of wins and losses, won’t be that easy. You have to discuss things with coaches. RR are a very systematic team. They hold many meetings there. He also has to look after his batting form,” he added.

Ashwin further said that Parag’s captaincy fate would depend on how the RR bowlers perform. He added that Jadeja’s experience would also come in handy for the youngster.

“It will be a challenging year. If the bowlers deliver, it will make his job easier. It’s not like that Parag has to look towards Jaiswal and Jurel; he has Ravindra Jadeja to look to for some suggestions. Hopefully, Kumar Sangakkara and the rest of the backroom staff can make his job a lot easier,” he added.