Rajasthan Royals’ campaign in IPL 2026 came to a heartbreaking end on Friday as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat against Gujarat Titans in the Qualifier 2 clash in Chandigarh. After posting a strong total of 214/6 in 20 overs, courtesy of a brilliant 96 off 47 balls from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, RR appeared to be in a commanding position. However, Shubman Gill had other plans, as the GT skipper hammered a superb century to guide his side to the target with eight balls to spare. With this loss, RR were knocked out of the title race, while Gujarat Titans sealed a spot in the final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

After the match, RR head coach Kumar Sangakkara questioned England all-rounder Sam Curran‘s late withdrawal due to injury, stating that the BCCI must ensure overseas players honour their contractual commitments throughout the IPL.

Curran had pulled out of the tournament citing a season-ending groin injury. However, he has since returned to action, featuring in three matches for Surrey in the T20 Blast. Sangakkara expressed his frustration over the situation, which forced RR to bring in Dasun Shanaka as a replacement.

“We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury, but I think I saw him playing for Surrey for two games or three games now, so that was disappointing. We’d have loved to have had him here playing for us, but I think having got Dasun Shanaka as a replacement when we were told early, everyone should be extremely proud of themselves,” said Sangakkara during the post-match press conference.

“A proper tight policy around that is always a requirement. The BCCI has a strict policy on that. Every person goes through injuries, and if it’s a serious injury, (or) a season-ending injury, of course we understand,” he added.

Sangakkara also praised the RR squad for their impressive run in IPL 2026, though he admitted disappointment at falling short of a place in the final.

“Yash had a great season, Brijesh had a very good season. But everyone around them, Yash to Riyan to Dhruv. Dhruv sometimes goes unnoticed, Don in the middle, Jofra Archer, Jadeja, Dube in a few games for us. Everyone who came in tried their best. So, I think from where we were last season to have got here, dragged ourselves here is a great sign,” he said.

“I think there’s a lot more in the tank for these players, but I can’t be prouder of a team than I am now. They’re a wonderful bunch of guys, highly skilled and they played really, really hard to get where they got to and where we got to. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make the final. I think they really played well enough to to have reached it, but GT was better on the day,” he added.

(With PTI Inputs)

Featured Video Of The Day

IPL 2026 News | RCB Outplay CSK For 2nd Win On Trot, Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co Suffer 3rd Loss