Former Rajasthan Royals (RR) player R Ashwin picked only three overseas players in his initial playing XI for the franchise, opting to leave the fourth one as the impact player options. However, RR have a new-look squad after the captain, Sanju Samson, and head coach, Rahul Dravid, left the side after a disastrous Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign.
However, RR roped in Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, and Donovan Ferreira through trades in the off-season. They also bought spinner Ravi Bishnoi and Adam Milne at the IPL 2026 auction as well. And, R Ashwin said that the additions of Ravindra Jadeja and Donovan Ferreira strengthen the lower middle-order and allow Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, and Dhruv Jurel to bat higher up the order as well. He also named Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, and Donovan Ferreira as his three overseas players.
“Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Shubham Dubey, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Sandeep Sharma,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. “I hope Shimron Hetmyer bats in the top four, the way he batted in the World Cup, he should be in the top four. Give the finishing responsibilities to Donovan Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja. I hope they go onto do that. RR have most bases covered. I think RR find themselves with so many options in the playing XI,” he added.
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He also backs opener Yashasvi Jaiswal to do well in IPL 2026 after failing to make it into the T20 World Cup 2026 squad. Among the bowlers, he also expects Ravi Bishnoi to make an impression.
“I’m going with Yashasvi Jaiswal as RR’s best batter for the season. He will come into the season with some serious hunger, he was removed from the T20 squad. His hunger is something else, so I will pick him,” Ashwin said.
“For the best bowler, I’ll go with Ravi Bishnoi. DId not have a great season at LSG, I think he will show the world and all of us that it was a big miss putting him back in the auction. They are contenders for the top four, they can come anywhere at 4,5, or 6,” R Ashwin concluded.
