Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has opined that Ravindra Jadeja would have been his first choice as Rajasthan Royals captain ahead of Riyan Parag. Jadeja was traded in from Chennai Super Kings and has the experience under his belt.
However, Jadeja had failed to lead CSK with aplomb in IPL 2022 as the franchise had managed only two wins in eight games under his leadership.
On the other hand, Parag leads Assam in the domestic circuit but Ashwin reckons leading a state team and leading in the IPL are two different things. Parag had also led RR in IPL 2025 as Sanju Samson had missed the majority of the previous season due to injury.
Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “I am not very sure of their leadership stem. I would have made Ravindra Jadeja the captain for two years and groomed Riyan Parag under him. RR, being analytically sound, will help Riyan Parag. But I feel Riyan Parag, the captain, has too much on his plate. He’s a free-spirited player. Yes, he has captained Assam. But there is a huge difference between captaining Assam and in the IPL.”
Ashwin said Parag will need to get the best of Jofra Archer, who can be hot and cold throughout the season.
“Jofra Archer blows hot and cold. How Parag is going to extract the best out of Archer is a big challenge. Though Ravi Bishnoi isn’t coming off a great season, he will turn the heat on, which will help Parag. Ravindra Jadeja will be his usual reliable self. Where Shimron Hetmyer bats is another question they have.”
On the other hand, Ashwin feels Kolkata Knight Riders will play the role of the party spoilers in IPL 2026.
“They (KKR) have two intimidating spinners in Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine. But I feel even the fear factor for them won’t be relevant this season. Yet, there is enough quality in Varun and Narine to win them a few games. KKR will play the role of spoilers for other teams to perfection this season,” said Ashwin (via the aforementioned source).
