Rajasthan Royals got a big blow, veteran player was out of the tournament, Sri Lankan all-rounder Shanaka got a place in the team.

New Delhi. Sri Lankan all-rounder Dasun Shanaka will replace the injured Sam Curran for Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2026. Shanaka has informed Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars about this change. The formalities related to this change are still being completed. Sam Curran was part of a big pre-auction trade between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. In this deal, CSK added Sanju Samson, while Rajasthan included Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran in the team. Sam Curran has been ruled out of the tournament due to a groin injury. Rajasthan Royals will begin their IPL campaign on March 30 with a match against five-time champions Chennai Super Kings at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. On April 4, it will face Gujarat Titans, then on April 7 it will face Mumbai Indians and after that on April 10, it will face Royal Challengers Bangalore.

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Shanaka has previously played for Gujarat Titans in the 2023 season of IPL, where he played three matches. He had scored 26 runs in three innings. Shanaka has played 131 T20I matches for Sri Lanka, in which he has scored 1,912 runs. He has also taken 46 wickets in these matches. Shanaka also captained Sri Lanka in the recent ICC Men’s T20 World Cup held in India and Sri Lanka. His current form is also quite good. He scored a half-century in 20 balls against Oman and then scored an unbeaten 76 runs in 31 balls against Pakistan. It is noteworthy that Shanaka has become the second player in recent times to leave the PSL team and join the IPL franchise. Earlier, Blessing Muzarabani had also terminated his contract with Islamabad United. When Kolkata Knight Riders approached him to replace Mustafizur Rahman. Mustafizur had already been released on the instructions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).