End Of Road For Shimron Hetmyer;  Players Rajasthan Royals Should Release Before IPL 2027

Rajasthan Royals IPL 2026 - (Source: AFP)

On Friday, Rajasthan Royals crashed out of IPL 2026 after Gujarat Titans completed a historic run chase and booked a seat in the final. The Riyan Parag-led side had a mixed season and were on the brink of a historic run before the heartbreak.

Talking about Rajasthan’s IPL 2026 season, the Riyan Parag-led side got off to a perfect start with 4 wins. However, it followed with two defeats that saw RR fighting for the fourth spot. The middle phase was tough for the 2008 winners, and they were reduced to a point where they had a do-or-die situation.

RR qualified for the playoffs by defeating the Mumbai Indians in their last group-stage match. Eventually, they stunned everyone and beat SRH to advance to qualifier 2.

Rajasthan Royals Ride High On Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Success

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi earned all the praise and rightly so, as the southpaw is the edition’s leading run-getter with 776 runs in 15 innings. Besides him, there were several players who had an underwhelming season and might see the door ahead of the next season.

Therefore, this article will shed light on the list of players Rajasthan Royals must release ahead of IPL 2027.

Players Rajasthan Royals Must Release Ahead Of IPL 2027

1. Shimron Hetmyer - 11 crores

Shimron Hetmyer has had an underwhelming season and failed to justify his 11 crore price tag. In IPL 2026, the Caribbean star batter played just 7 innings and scored just 78 runs, averaging 13.00. Hetmyer failed to score a solitary 30+ score.

It was not just one bad season, but Hetmyer failed to impress in IPL 2025 as well. The 29-year-old had a 239-run season in 13 innings, averaging 21.73. Therefore, Hetmyer’s release is a no-brainer, and it will open an 11 crore purse for the Royals.

2. Ravi Bishnoi - 7.20 crores

Another name, a bit shocking but quite possible, is Ravi Bishnoi. The 7.2 crore spinner started the IPL 2026 positively and even held the purple cap for a while before bowing out of the scheme of things. In the first four matches, Bishnoi picked up 9 wickets, and then he added just 2 more in the next five matches.

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Further, as the tournament went ahead, Rajasthan Royals picked Yash Punja ahead of Ravi Bishnoi as their primary spinner. 

3. Tushar Deshpande - 6.5 crores

Tushar Deshpande, too, might see the door closing on him because of his high value. 6.5 crore is too much for a quality like Deshpande. The only highlight for the ex-CSK star in the entire tournament was to defend 9 runs off the last over against Gujarat Titans.

Other than that, Deshpande had just 4 wickets in 7 innings, and his economy too was 11.96 with a strike-rate of 34.00.

4. Sandeep Sharma - 4 crores

Amid the low-cost players, Sandeep Sharma is likely to be released. The 4 crore buy took just 5 wickets in 6 innings, with an economy of 11.39. He was left out of the team mid-season, which hints that he is already not in the plans ahead of the next season. 

5. Adam Milne - 2.4 crores

In IPL 2026, Adam Milne was presented with a solitary opportunity, which came against Delhi Capitals. It ended up in a losing cause as the Kiwi seamer gave away 41 runs in just 3.2 overs without taking any wickets.

Hence, Adam Milne is most likely to be released ahead of IPL 2027, which means that Rajasthan Royals’ entire focus during the auction will be on the bowlers.

Total Purse Value For Rajasthan Royals With Potentially Released Players

Shimron Hetmyer + Ravi Bishnoi + Tushar Deshpande + Sandeep Sharma + Adam Milne = 31.1 crores

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