IPL 2026: Dasun Shanaka To Join Rajasthan Royals As Sam Curran's Replacement - Report

Sri Lanka skipper and all-rounder Dasun Shanaka will reportedly replace the injured Sam Curran in the Rajasthan Royals (RR) squad for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 edition. The development comes as another blow to the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which Shanaka was slated to play in.

The move would make Shanaka the latest cricketer to switch from the PSL to the IPL after Zimbabwe seamer Blessing Muzarabani withdrew from his contract with Islamabad United to join Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman.

Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi said on Sunday (March 22, 2026) that the board's legal department will pursue the cases of cricketers who cancelled their PSL contracts to join the IPL.

"Dasun's signing is pending owing to his paperwork in the PSL, which is a formality. He is likely to join the squad in Guwahati," a PTI report quoted a team source as saying. He is coming in for Curran, who was ruled out of the tournament with a suspected groin injury.

RR will kick off their IPL 2026 campaign against Chennai Super Kings on March 30 in Guwahati, their home venue in the first phase of the IPL schedule that has been announced thus far.

Under Shanaka's leadership, co-hosts Sri Lanka were knocked out in the Super Eight stage of the latest T20 World Cup. Shanaka scored 165 runs, including a 31-ball 76 not out against Pakistan, and took three wickets. Having gone unsold at the IPL mini auction in December 2025, Shanaka was picked up by PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars.

The Qalandars will reportedly replace Shanaka with Australian all-rounder Daniel Sams.

While Sri Lankan cricket great Kumar Sangakkara is the Royals' head coach, former India batting coach Vikram Rathour is the assistant coach of the team. Rathour was the consulting batting coach of Sri Lanka during the T20 World Cup.

(With PTI inputs)