After Rahul Dravid, another huge exit rocks Rajasthan Royals in fresh franchise shake-up

The chain of events started earlier this summer when media reports emerged that Samson told the Rajasthan Royals to release or trade him before the auction for the IPL 2026 season. While the rumours grew stronger with media reports also claiming that the franchise was contacting other teams for a possible trade deal, where Chennai Super Kings showed great interest, but it instantly hit a stalemate, days later, Dravid departed. The announcement was rather made public by the Royals. Earlier, the head of marketing, Dwijendra Parashar, had left right at the end of the previous IPL season. And now, CEO Jake Lush McCrum parted ways with the franchise.

According to a report in Cricbuzz, McCrum had informed other IPL franchises and industry colleagues about his decision. McCrum had joined the Royals in a junior role before moving into the Operations wing and was later elevated to the role of CEO by 2021, when he was all of 28. The report mentioned that he is expected to be relieved from his role by October.

Rumours of his exit from the Royals setup were evident on television after his absence from the Paarl Royals table during the SA20 auction. Former Sri Lanka cricketer Kumar Sangakkara, who is speculated to return as the head coach in the next IPL season, led the charge in his stead.

The two shocking exits in such a small span of time, amid the rumours about Samson, left many questioning what is happening within the Royals franchise. But the reports over the last one month showed that it all began after the team's performance review in July, after Rajasthan, the inaugural IPL champions, finished ninth in the table, having won just four of their 14 league games.

The report concluded by saying that team owner Manoj Badale "has taken charge of the franchise and is seemingly taking all leadership roles out of India to London."

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