Yashasvi Jaiswal's ‘thank you, Rajasthan Royals’ and 'future' post sparks separation rumours: ‘KKR captain,' say fans
Jaiswal's post, which had phrases like "grateful for the journey" and "...whatever future brings", made fans believe he was indicating a separation from RR.
Yashasvi Jaiswal's Instagram post a day after his team, the Rajasthan Royals, ended their IPL 2025 campaign with a resounding win over Chennai Super Kings, sparked speculations of the opening batter leaving RR. Jaiswal, who had another prolific season with the bat, scoring 559 runs - the most by an RR batter this season - at a strike rate of 159 at the top of the order, thanked the RR team management before adding that it was not the season that they hoped for.
The wording of Jaiswal's post, which mentioned phrases like "grateful for the journey" and "...whatever future brings," made fans believe he was indicating a separation from RR, a team he has proudly represented for six seasons.
"Thank you, Rajasthan Royals, for everything. Not the season we hoped for, but continue to be grateful for our journey together. On to the next challenge 🇮🇳 and whatever the future brings YBJ 64," Jaiswal wrote on Instagram.
Fans did not take the time to speculate on Jaiswal's departure from RR. Many RR fans requested Jaiswal to rethink his decision and not to leave the franchise that finished ninth on the points table with 10 points in 14 matches.
Some fans also commented that Jaiswal could join the Kolkata Knight Riders and lead the team next year.
“Welcome to KKR Captain,” commented a fan on Jaiswal's post.
“Come to KKR,” wrote another.
Jaiswal was quick to take note of this. He edited the caption by adding an Indian flag after the phrase “on to the next challenge” to indicate that he meant his upcoming challenge with the Indian Test side and also wrote “continue to be grateful” instead of “grateful for the journey”.
RR hasn't been a happy bunch this year. Reports of an internal rift between captain Sanju Samson and head coach Rahul Dravid dominated the headlines. While Dravid himself clarified that there was nothing, the franchises' decision to appoint Riyan Parag as the stand-in skipper when Samson was not well-received by the majority of fans.
Although Parag had a reasonable season with the bat, scoring 393 runs at a strike rate of 166, the popular notion was with Jaiswal.
Jaiswal himself has had a but of an iffy time away from the IPL. He took a No Objection Certificate from Mumbai to move to Goa for the next domestic season in order to sharpen his leadership skills but reversed the decision a few weeks later.
The left-hander's next big assignment is the England tour. He is the only batter confirmed in his position in India's top-order, which has been left poorer by the retirements of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Jaiswal, who has been a consistent performer in red-ball cricket ever since making his debut in 2023, will travel to England early to play a first-class match for India A against the England Lions.
