New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS) Ahead of the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), inaugural edition winners Rajasthan Royals (RR) have marked another shift in changing the franchise’s backroom structure by parting ways with long-time fielding coach Dishant Yagnik.

Yagnik, who played for Rajasthan in the domestic cricket circuit, had been associated with the franchise first as a player from IPL 2011 to 2014 seasons, and since 2018, he had been their fielding coach. “Yes, it’s confirmed that RR and Yagnik have gone their separate ways. It happened some time ago, but has come into light now,” said sources aware of the development to IANS on Saturday.

Yagnik was known to have played a key role in nurturing both Indian and overseas players in his time at the franchise. The move comes just weeks after Rahul Dravid, who had signed a multi-year contract as RR’s head coach after coaching India to the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup win, stepped away from the role after an underwhelming IPL 2025 campaign.

It was a campaign to forget for RR, where they finished at ninth place, with just four wins in 14 league stage matches. Yagnik’s departure means Vikram Rathour (batting coach), Shane Bond (fast bowling coach), and Sairaj Bahutule (spin bowling coach) are the current members of the RR coaching staff.

Yagnik will now be turning his focus to working as the fielding coach for the Jammu and Kashmir team in the upcoming domestic season. In the previous season, he was one of the key members in the coaching staff as Jammu and Kashmir qualified for the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.

Ahead of the mini auction, RR also need to deal with the uncertainty surrounding Sanju Samson’s future at the franchise. With reports claiming that Samson is not keen on staying with the team, the franchise will be forced to reassess captaincy options and regroup ahead of IPL 2026.

Meanwhile, IANS understands that there’s a possibility of former India left-arm spinner and national selector Sunil Joshi heading to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru to fill in the spin-bowling coach vacancy. Joshi has been part of the Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) support staff for the past two seasons as their spin bowling coach.

–IANS

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