Jaipur, March 18 (IANS) Inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals unveiled their new jersey for the upcoming 2026 season on Wednesday, with newly-appointed captain Riyan Parag, teenaged batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi among those present to showcase it.

The 2008 IPL winners announced the reveal of their jersey in their usual blue and pink colours on Instagram with the caption: “New look, same Halla Bol. Jersey: RRevealed.” RR will begin their IPL 2026 season against five-time winners Chennai Super Kings at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on March 30.

The franchise will play their first three home matches in Guwahati – their alternate home ground and Parag’s hometown – with fixtures at their primary home venue, the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, to be confirmed whenever the BCCI announces the remainder of the tournament’s schedule.

The opening fixture against Chennai Super Kings will carry an added edge, with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran, now RR players, set to face their former side. RR will then travel to Ahmedabad for their first away game of the season, where they take on 2022 winners Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on April 4.

The side will then return to Guwahati to host five-time winners Mumbai Indians and reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 7 and April 10 respectively. With three of their opening four fixtures at home, RR will be looking to build early momentum as they chase a second IPL title after finishing at a disappointing ninth place in the 2025 season, where they got only four wins from 14 games.

Parag’s elevation to RR’s captaincy came after the exit of Sanju Samson, who moved to CSK in a trade that brought Jadeja and Curran to RR. Parag, 24, briefly captained RR in the 2025 season when Samson missed eight matches through injury, though the side won only two of those games under his leadership.

–IANS

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