“When Ashwin came to RR, even he got hit” - IPL winner’s massive remark on Ravindra Jadeja ahead of IPL 2026

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja might have a tough time settling into the conditions at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur following his switch to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The left-arm spinner moved to his former franchise ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction, following a massive trade move that also included Sanju Samson and Sam Curran.

Ravindra Jadeja has been consistently bowling at the MA Chidambaram Stadium during his stint with CSK, and has been prolific at the venue. In 55 matches, he bagged 37 wickets at an average of 27.51 and an economy rate of 7.03.

The all-rounder has played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium before as well, when he was part of the RR setup in the competition's formative years, and also as part of the visiting teams.

In 13 matches at the venue, he has taken six wickets at an average of 25.83 and an economy rate of 6.99. He only bowled two overs while being part of the home team, before bowling on a consistent basis from 2011 onwards.

Kaif remarked how Jadeja will have to adjust to the conditions since they are quite different when compared to the Chepauk in Chennai. He cited Ashwin as an example, who arrived in RR ahead of the 2022 season, and struggled to make an impact straight away.

"This will be a huge test for Jadeja because he has been bowling mostly at the Chepauk all these years in the IPL. No one cat hit him at the Chepauk. But, now you are coming from the South to the North. There won't be much bounce on these black soil wickets. So, he might not get that bounce and sharp turn here. So, this is a massive test for Jadeja as a bowler. When Ashwin came to RR, even he got hit a few times. There will be pressure on Jadeja, because he was a king in Chennai, but now these are entirely new conditions," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

R Ashwin has taken 10 wickets in 15 appearances at the venue at an average of 30.60 and an economy of 8.08. While RR did not play at their home stadium in 2022 due to the entire tournament being held in Mumbai due to COVID-19 restrictions, they returned in the 2023 campaign, where the veteran spinner took five wickets in five matches with an economy rate of 7.88.

"This time they will promote Jurel" - Mohammad Kaif on RR's new-look batting order for IPL 2026

RR have multiple holes to fill in their batting order after Sanju Samson and Nitish Rana were traded away during the offseason. Kaif believes that Dhruv Jurel is the franchise's next No.3 after hovering in the late middle-order fora while now. The wicket-keeper battee struggled as a finisher in IPL 2025, but was retained by the franchise for INR 14 crore once again.

Kaif feels that RR have a well-settled batting line-up on paper ahead of the auction, but stressed the name for spinners as they released Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and Kumar Kartikeya.

"RR's problem is their bowling. They have good Indian batters - Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi will open, Jurel will come at No.3. This time they will promote Jurel. Then Parag, then Jadeja, then you have Hetmyer and Curran, so they have the batting covered. In the pace department they have Archer, Burger, and Sandeep Sharma, but they do not have a spinner. They will run after spinners," Kaif said.

The 2026 IPL Auction will take place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16. The inaugural winners have a purse of INR 16.05 crore, with nine slots remaining.