Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], March 19 (ANI): Inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) have commenced their preparations for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season with a training camp in Jaipur, as the franchise looks to fine-tune its combination ahead of the tournament.

Several key players, including India's ace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, were seen practising with the team, while the coaching staff worked closely to monitor and ensure peak performance during the tournament.

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With the schedule for the first phase of the IPL 2026 season announced, the Riyan Parag-led Royals are set to play their campaign opener against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Guwahati on March 30.

Then, the Rajasthan Royals are scheduled to play on April 4 against the Shubman Gill-led Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Their third fixture will be against five-time champions Mumbai Indians on April 7, followed by their match against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 10.

Earlier, the Rajasthan-based franchise was involved in one of the biggest trade-offs in IPL history ahead of the 2026 season.

Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who had been the face of Rajasthan Royals for more than a decade, representing the franchise across 11 seasons, was traded to the five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and will now don the yellow colours during the IPL 2026 edition.

In return, the inaugural champions, Roysls, got England all-rounder Sam Curran and veteran Ravindra Jadeja, who were traded from CSK.

Notably, Jadeja was part of the Rajasthan squad that lifted the inaugural IPL trophy in 2008 under the captaincy of the late Australian spinner Shane Warne.

The veteran all-rounder represented the franchise during the 2008 and 2009 seasons before moving to other teams in the years that followed.

Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2026:

Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Donovan Ferreira, Sandeep Sharma, Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger, Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punja, Vignesh Puthur, Ravi Singh, Aman Rao, Brijesh Sharma, Adam Milne, Kuldeep Sen. (ANI)