"I feel something happened" - Former RCB batter's stunning claim on changes within Rajasthan Royals ahead of IPL 2026 Auction

Former Rajasthan Royals (RR) cricketer Mohammad Kaif has made a stunning claim on the significant changes within the setup ahead of IPL 2026. Kaif, who also played for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), remarked that a major disagreement could have arisen between Rahul Dravid, Kumar Sangakkara, Sanju Samson, and franchise owner Manoj Badale for such changes to take place.

The development of Dravid stepping down as the Royals' coach emerged on October 30. According to the official statement, the 52-year-old had been offered a broader position as part of restructuring, but he declined the offer.

Speaking in the latest video on his YouTube channel 'Mohammad Kaif,' the 44-year-old suggested that it was the wrong decision to let go of Dravid after only one year as the coach. He elaborated:

"I feel something happened between Sangakkara, Dravid, Sanju Samson, and owner Manoj Badale. Hence, Samson and Dravid are no longer with the Royals. The team didn’t play to their potential either in IPL 2025. They let go Rahul Dravid in a haste. Such coaches are difficult to find and teams underperform sometimes as IPL is a difficult tournament."

"So, you won’t finish in top three every season. When the mega auction happened, the likes of Buttler weren’t there. Dravid didn’t even get the team that Sangakkara did. So, the Royals had a relatively weaker side," he added.

The inaugural IPL champions struggled for consistency in IPL 2025, winning only four matches out of 14 and finishing ninth in the points table. With Samson playing in only half the number of games, the Rajasthan Royals could not muster a competitive total on most occasions.

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"Don’t think his departure will hurt Rajasthan that much" - Mohammad Kaif on RR trading Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson is no longer part of the Rajasthan Royals. (Credits: Getty)

Reacting to reports of a rift between Samson and Dravid, Kaif denied any possibility of it. However, he doesn't see the high-profile trade of Samson hurting Rajasthan in IPL 2026. In the same video, Kaif said:

"We don’t know what really goes on the inside. But Samson might also have been upset with the management. We don’t know for sure whether he had an issue with Dravid. If Dravid was leaving, Samson could’ve stayed. So, Samson’s reason for leaving might be something else. But it’s true that Rahul Dravid deserved one more chance but they moved on and Sangakkara has returned. As for Samson, I don’t think his departure will hurt Rajasthan that much. But I see a long-term harm due to Dravid’s departure."

However, he felt his former India teammate would have added a lot more value to Rajasthan, especially in guiding the promising 14-year-old dynamite Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Kaif continued:

"Dravid will not opt to be part of the Royals again. He will coach elsewhere but Dravid doesn’t need to either because he has achieved a lot of things in his career. If you compare, Dravid’s departure will be detrimental in long term. Someone like Vaibhav Suryavanshi would have benefitted a lot from an Indian coach, such as learning how to become an all-format player or how to improve as a batter."

Nevertheless, the captaincy position is currently vacant due to Samson's trade to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. Along with Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Riyan Parag are contenders to lead the franchise in IPL 2026.