Ex-Rajasthan Royals (RR) cricketer Mohammad Kaif has levelled a surprising accusation on the changes that have been made to the setup going into IPL 2026. Kaif, who was part of the RCB line-up earlier, however added that the change handling could have taken place following a major showdown between Rahul Dravid, Kumar Sangakkara and Sanju Samson with team co-owner Manoj Badale.
Dravid’s stint as Head Coach of the Royals was announced to end on 30 October. The 52-year-old actor was given a bigger role in the reorganization but refused it, according to the statement.
Speaking in the most recent video on his YouTube channel ‘Mohammad Kaif,’ the 44-year-old stated that firing Dravid after only one year as coach was the incorrect option. 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 initial IPL champions struggled for consistency in IPL 2025, winning only four out of 14 games and ending ninth in the points standings. With Samson playing only half as many games, the Rajasthan Royals struggled to score competitively on most occasions.
Mohammad Kaif says Sanju Samson’s exit won’t hurt Rajasthan Royals much
In response to claims of a rift between Samson and Dravid, Kaif dismissed the possibility. However, he does not believe Samson’s high-profile deal will affect Rajasthan in IPL 2026. In the same video, Kaif stated:
“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.”
Mohammad Kaif
However, he believed his former India teammate would have added significantly more value to Rajasthan, particularly in coaching the young 14-year-old firebrand 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.”
Mohammad Kaif
Nonetheless, the captaincy is currently vacant following Samson’s sale to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. Along with Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Riyan Parag are also contenders to captain the franchise in the IPL 2026.
