Sri Lanka cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara on Monday was reappointed as head coach for Rajasthan Royals ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, following the exit of Rahul Dravid from the role.Dravid had left RR in August this year, and Sangakkara will be returning as the head coach, having served in the same role from 2021-2024.
“Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara will also take charge as Head Coach for IPL 2026,” Rajasthan Royals posted on X.It was an abrupt end for former India captain Dravid’s tenure after returning to the franchise for the 2025 season with a multi-year contract.The T20 World Cup-winning former national coach exited after a “structural review” of the team’s poor performance earlier this year.The franchise endured a terrible run, finishing ninth in the 10-team event with just four wins from 14 games.Earlier, on October 30, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) named Abhishek Nayar as their new head coach for the 2026 IPL season. Three-time IPL champions’ announcement came following the departure of Chandrakant Pandit after a three-season tenure.Nayar has been associated with the KKR since 2018 and is one of the key members of their think-tank.For close to nine months, Nayar was a part of Gautam Gambhir’s coaching set-up in the national team but was sacked unceremoniously after India’s Champions Trophy triumph with Sitanshu Kotak replacing him.
Full list of coaches of all IPL teams for the 2026 season
- Kumar Sankakkara will be the head coach of Rajasthan Royals.
- Abhishek Nayar will serve as the head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
- Mahela Jayawardene, who was reappointed as head coach of the Mumbai Indians (MI) last season, will continue in his role. Jayawardene had also previously served as Mumbai’s head coach from 2017 to 2022
- New Zealand batter Stephen Fleming was appointed as the coach of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2009 and will continue to serve as CSK coach for the upcoming IPL season too.
- Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will continue with Andy Flower as their head coach.
- Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have confirmed that Justin Langer and Bharat Arun would continue as the head coach and the fast-bowling coach of the franchise, respectively.
- While Gujarat Titans have still not confirmed their head coach, the franchise’s website mentions Ashish Nehra, who was appointed the head coach in 2022, as its head coach.
- Former India batter Hemang Badani took over as the head coach at Delhi Capitals (DC) last season and he will continue in his role for the 2026 season.
- Daniel Vittori is likely to continue as head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
- Ricky Ponting will continue to serve as head coach of Punjab Kings.
