Rajasthan Royals (RR) have been bolstered by the inclusion of Dasun Shanka in the squad for IPL 2026. Dasun Shanaka comes in place of Sam Curran, who is nursing a groin injury. Dasun Shanaka will join RR for INR 2 crore (US$ 214,000 approx.), which is quite humongous, and his experience will be invaluable.
Dasun Shanaka, earlier in IPL 2023, was with the Gujarat Titans (GT) as a replacement player for Kane Williamson. Dasun Shanaka had played only 3 matches in that season and amassed 26 runs. It’s quite tough to say that Dasun Shanaka can contribute with both bat & ball as compared to Sam Curran, who was quite exceptional in death overs for England in ICC T20 WC 2026 and lethal with the bat as well.
Dasun Shanaka helps maintain the balance of side- Kumar Sangakkara
RR’s head coach & director of cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, was having an interaction with the media. Sangakkara was quite hopeful that Shanaka would be a vital cog for RR in the setup. Sangakkara, though, acknowledged the fact that finding an ideal replacement for Sam Curran wasn’t easy.
“Sam Curran brings immense value with both bat and ball. However, we are pleased to have found an ideal replacement in Dasun Shanaka, a finisher with the bat and a quality all-rounder who helps maintain the balance of our side,” said Kumar Sangakkara.
Dasun Shanaka chose PSL over IPL
Dasun Shanaka, we can say, ditched PSL over IPL. The Sri Lankan captain was supposed to play for Lahore Qalandars (LHQ) in the upcoming PSL edition starting from 26th March. LHQ has brought in Daniel Sams as a replacement player for Dasun Shanaka.
PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi, though, has clearly stated that PCB will take strict action for breaching the contract. Blessing Muzurabani has also cancelled his PSL contract to play for KKR. It’s quite clear that players are choosing more incentives and higher pay grades, which is somewhat unethical as a franchise & management does all planning with combinations, and then the player pulls out on the 11th hour.
Dasun Shanaka’s addition will help Riyan Parag a lot in the leadership group. We should not forget that Shanaka led the island nation in the ICC T20 WC 2026 and also won the Asia Cup 2022 under his reign. Shanka recently in ICC T20 WC 2026 played flamboyant knocks against Oman & Pakistan which blew the opposition and amassed 165 runs in 6 innings and hit 2 half centuries with a strike rate of 187.5.
RR would be aiming to avoid the wooden spoon, as the previous edition was quite a forgettable one. RR’s first encounter is against CSK on 30th May 2026 at Guwahati, which is another home ground of the franchise. Riyan Parag would be thoroughly tested, as in the absence of Sanju Samson ( now a part of CSK), the top order looks quite fragile, as the onus will be on Yashasvi Jaiswal to lead the batting with the tyro Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who is tipped to be the next big thing in world cricket.
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