Rajasthan Royals on Monday announced Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara as their head coach for the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, following the exit of Rahul Dravid from the role.
Dravid had left the franchise in August this year and Sangakkara, who has been the franchise’s Director of Cricket since 2021, will be returning as the head coach having served in the same role from 2021-2024.
“Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara will also take charge as Head Coach for IPL 2026,” Rajasthan Royals posted on X.
Sangakkara’s return as head coach comes days after Rajasthan Royals completed the trade of their wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who will join Chennai Super Kings.
In return, Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran have been roped in by the Royals’ camp.
Meanwhile, RR also released a total of seven players, including three overseas, ahead of the mini auction to be held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
Among the players released by the Royals are Akash Madhwal, Ashok Sharma, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Kunal Rathore, Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga.
Full list of coaches of all IPL teams for the 2026 season
- Kumar Sankakkara will be the head coach of Rajasthan Royals.
- Abhishek Nayar will serve as the head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
- Mahela Jayawardene, who was reappointed as head coach of the Mumbai Indians (MI) last season, will continue in his role. Jayawardene had also previously served as Mumbai’s head coach from 2017 to 2022
- New Zealand batter Stephen Fleming was appointed as the coach of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2009 and will continue to serve as CSK coach for the upcoming IPL season too.
- Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will continue with Andy Flower as their head coach.
- Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have confirmed that Justin Langer and Bharat Arun would continue as the head coach and the fast-bowling coach of the franchise, respectively.
- While Gujarat Titans have still not confirmed their head coach, the franchise’s website mentions Ashish Nehra, who was appointed the head coach in 2022, as its head coach.
- Former India batter Hemang Badani took over as the head coach at Delhi Capitals (DC) last season and he will continue in his role for the 2026 season.
- Daniel Vittori is likely to continue as head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
- Ricky Ponting will continue to serve as head coach of Punjab Kings.
