IPL 2026: Rajasthan Royals sign Sri Lankan all-rounder as replacement for Sam Curran

The Rajasthan Royals have signed Sri Lankan veteran Dasun Shanaka for INR 2 crore as a replacement for the injured Sam Curran. With RR's strong batting lineup, he is expected to play a key role.

Dasun Shanaka has joined RR as a replacement of injured Sam Curran. Image | HT

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) have moved quickly to fill a gigantic void in their squad, officially announcing Sri Lankan veteran Dasun Shanaka as a replacement for the injured all-rounder Sam Curran.

Shanaka joins RR for INR 2 crore

Dasun Shanaka will join the Rajasthan Royals for INR 2 Crore. While replacing a player of Sam Curran’s calibre will not be an easy task, the 34-year-old Sri Lankan brings a wealth of international experience and a proven "clutch" character that aligns with RR's aggressive tactical system under Kumar Sangakkara's guidance.

Read also: IPL 2026: 5 debutants to watch out for in the upcoming season.

Who is Dasun Shanaka?

Dasun Shanaka, the former Sri Lankan captain, has played 131 T20I matches for his country. Shanaka has scored over 1912 T20I runs and claimed 46 T20I wickets for the one-time T20 World Cup champions. In the past, he has played for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, but could not impress much in the 3 games he has featured so far in the league.

Shanaka has the ability to hit clean against both pace and spin, and is often viewed as a specialist at finishing the games for Sri Lanka. With a heavy top-order batting line-up consisting of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, and Shimron Hetmyer, Shanaka can be the one to finish the job with the bat for the Rajasthan Royals alongside Ravindra Jadeja.

Moreover, he can be the one who gives them, if not 4, surely 2-3 overs of seam bowling during IPL 2026.

Read also: IPL deep-dive: Underrated XI of IPL history; Balaji, Marsh, Yusuf, Rayudu and who else?

RR squad for IPL 2026

Wicket-keepers: Dhruv Jurel, Donovan Ferreira, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh.

Batters: Aman Perala, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Riyan Parag, Dasun Shanaka (Replacement for Sam Curran).

Bowlers: Adam Milne, Brijesh Sharma, Jofra Archer, Kuldeep Sen, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger, Ravi Bishnoi, Sandeep Sharma, Sushant Mishra, Tushar Deshpande, Vignesh Puthur, Yash Punja.

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