Earlier in August, in the aftermath of a poor season for the Rajasthan Royals (RR), Rahul Dravid's return at the helm of the franchise as the head coach came to a premature end after just one season.
Dravid had replaced Kumar Sangakkara as the head coach after finishing his time with the Indian national team; however, due to Sanju Samson's injuries and inconsistent performances, the season could not take off for the Royals, who ended with just 4 wins in 14 matches.
RR are currently without a head coach with the IPL 2026 mini-auction approaching and as it stands, the former Sri Lankan captain looks the best-placed option on the table for the franchise.
Kumar Sangakkara to return as RR head coach
According to ESPNcricinfo, Sangakkara, who currently acts as RR's director of cricket will return to the sidelines of the team to help the Jaipur-based team for the upcoming seasons.
The first task on his table is to sort the captaincy issue after Sanju Samson asked for a release, with various franchises linked to his move.
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At the moment, any official word from the franchise on the issue is awaited, but as per the reports, the former cricketer has already started working for IPL 2026 unofficially.
How has the Rajasthan Royals performed under Kumar Sangakkara?
The Sri Lankan legend played an instrumental role in taking the Men In Pink to the IPL 2022 final in 2022, followed by a 3rd place finish in the 2024 season, when they went on to eliminate Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator and subsequently lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2.
| Season | Finishing position |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 7th |
| 2022 | 2nd (Runner-ups) |
| 2023 | 5th |
| 2024 | 3rd (Q2) |
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