Legendary Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will play for Rajasthan Royals once again in the IPL after 17 years. The 36-year-old cricketer from Jamnagar in Gujarat made his IPL debut with the Jaipur-based
franchise in 2008 and played a big role in their title win under Shane Warne’s leadership in the inaugural edition. He joined Royals from CSK ahead of the IPL 2026 auction in a trade deal involving Sanju Samson and Sam Curran as well.
Jadeja, who is set to play a big role for the Royals in the world’s richest franchise cricket league this year, joined RR’s camp in Jaipur a few days back, and he is training hard with other RR players these days.
He recently bowled star India and RR opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in the nets, and in a video shared by the franchise on X, Jaiswal can be seen smacking a big six off Jadeja’s bowling.
After Jaiswal scored a six on the first ball of his first training session ahead of IPL 2026, Jadeja came up with an epic reaction. In a clip which is now going viral on the internet, Jadeja stated, “Room mein practice karke aaya hai yeh.”
Here’s a look:
Jaiswal’s first ball as a Royal in 2026 💪💗 pic.twitter.com/ElAXP5lUQs
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 19, 2026
In IPL 2026, Jaiswal will open the innings for RR along with 14-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. In the absence of Samson, who will play for CSK in IPL 2026, there will be big responsibilities on Jaiswal’s shoulders, and the left-handed batter would like to live up to the billing by scoring big runs for the Riyan Parag-led side.
In the upcoming edition of the IPL, RR will open their campaign against Chennai Super Kings at Barsapara Cricket Stadium on March 30 and then take on Gujarat Giants at Narendra Modi Stadium on April 4. RR’s third and fourth games of the 2026 edition are scheduled in Guwahati against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 7 and 9, respectively.
Curran to miss IPL 2026
It has been reported that English all-rounder Sam Curran, who joined RR in a trade deal last year along with Jadeja from CSK in exchange for Samson, will miss the entire season of the IPL due to a groin injury. Curran, who led Desert Vipers to the ILT20 title win in January 2026, last played a competitive cricket match on March 5 against India in the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026.
