The upcoming edition of the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/chalal-admits-he-has-stopped-drinking-alcohol-ahead-of-ipl-2026-23621587" rel="nofollow">Indian Premier League</a> (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections.
Ahead of the cash-rich league, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will enter the tournament under the leadership of newly appointed full-time captain Riyan Parag.
Earlier, the Rajasthan-based franchise traded their former skipper, <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-sanju-samson-sees-playing-alongside-ms-dhoni-as-an-opportunity-to-learn-from-csk-legend-23621091" rel="nofollow">Sanju Samson</a>, to Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Speaking about Samson, RR's incumbent captain Parag said that there is no replacement for the 31-year-old cricketer.
"If you talk about Sanju bhaiya, we never think about replacing the kind of player he is. We can perhaps look for someone with a similar skillset or have someone bat in his position. It's like there is no replacement for Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma... In the same way, there is no replacement for Sanju bhaiya because he is such a good player," he said.
Further speaking about the team's strategy for the upcoming season, the skipper stated that the focus will be on planning better and finishing matches.
"This year, the focus is to plan better and finish games, which we couldn't do in the previous edition. We need to plan well. Last year, there were about 5-6 games which we lost in the last over or even on the last ball. Had we been able to convert those, or had we calculated better, this question (if RR would try anything new) would not have been asked because we would have qualified (for knockouts) by winning those matches," said Parag.
He also said that a team needs to make three to four right decisions according to strategy and planning in the shortest format of the game.
"I think that in every T20 game, there are 3-4 decisions that you have to make which change the course of the game. If we take those small decisions with strategy and planning, this year will be different," added the 24-year-old cricketer.
<h2>IPL 2026, Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings: Date and venue</h2>
RR will begin their <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-kkr-head-coach-abhishek-nayar-welcomes-shane-watson-as-assistant-coach-with-heartfelt-speech-23621481" rel="nofollow">IPL 2026</a> campaign by playing a match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 30 at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati.
(With PTI Inputs)

IPL 2026: Ahead of the cash-rich league, Rajasthan Royals (RR) will enter the tournament under the leadership of newly appointed full-time captain Riyan Parag

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Ahead of the cash-rich league, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will enter the tournament under the leadership of newly appointed full-time captain Riyan Parag

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