Finally, Royals boss Badale has said something about the scandal on Royalties after IPL 2025, acknowledging that the bad few months of Royalties had been the most difficult in the hands of Badale since he became the owner of the team. The loss of two former colleagues, Sanju Samson and Rahul Dravid, shook him emotionally but as Badale insists, no decision taken was secret, tactical or eventually aimed at enhancing RR to be better placed in the 2026 season.
The play itself started soon following a catastrophic 2025 season, which according to Badale is the worst season in the history of the football team. To begin with, news went round that Samson desired to take off. Then Dravid, who was just introduced a year earlier as the head coach, chose to resign. The franchise seemed to be falling apart, by the time RR sold Samson to Chennai Super Kings in exchange with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. But, according to Badale, it was not possible that impression could be more distant.
To begin with, he stresses that the team held its regular post-season examination, but this time under a new England rugby coach Stuart Lancaster. The three obvious themes that were found in the review, as it was noted by Badale, included the structure had become too complicated, the team had become too loose, and player interrelation was weaker. He personally blames himself as letting that complexity to get built so that a re-set was necessary after their dismal season.
Nevertheless, the most emotional shock was the one made by Samson when he decided to abandon. According to Badale, Samson privately told him toward the close of the season that he was exhausted in the emotional capital. The word remained in the memory of Badale who claims that Samson thought that he cherished it too much and that he was in need of a new chapter. The franchise did not attempt to make him have a change of heart but rather admired his integrity. Badale explains that he did not want to drive away a player that had contributed so much to the game of RR.
Nevertheless, he insisted that any departure would be done by way of a trade off of players which would strengthen the franchise. Samson concurred and RR embarked on a covert exercise with all the ten teams and finally settled on the CSK deal.
Curran and Jadeja were included in the trade which made this trade especially appealing. Badale refers to Jadeja as an evident temptation better like one who has a proven track record of match-winning and whose all-round talent serves to bridge some structural holes in the team. Curran is versatile and can come in to plug various holes in the team. According to him, the blend of the two players will instantly enhance the balance of the team, a department where RR had faltered after having used a significant portion of their purse 2025 on batting.
Lastly, Badale puts emphasis that the franchise is not at crisis even after various exit. Interviews with Sangakkara did not revolve around a rebuild, but rather on an agenda of going back to what made RR successful between 2022 and 2024: good fielding, good culture, and role clarity. Again, he also mentions that the home of the team will always be Rajasthan, the infrastructure of stadiums might once again determine the mobility of Jaipur and Guwahati.
Finally, Royals boss Badale admits that the loss of Dravid and Samson, who were his friends of 15 years, still lingers on him but he is sure that RR made the decisions on the basis of the courage, care and the best data available. He feels that the reshaped team led by Jadeja and Curran is capable of competing at once and hopes that people understand the reasoning behind the shifts as the franchise shifts its concerns toward IPL 2026.
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