Explained: Why Suresh Raina is Not Part of Indian Royals in Asian Legends League 2026?

The Asian Legends League 2026 is all set to begin on July 30, 2026, and will be played at the Lotus Sports Club Ground, Nairobi, Kenya. As this is the 2nd season of the Asian Legends League, there has been more excitement among the fans to witness some of the legendary players and feel more nostalgic to see them in action again.

The Asian Legends League 2026 will be played across six teams from six different nations: Indian Royals, Sri Lankan Royals, Bangladeshi Tigers, Afghanistan Pathans, Pakistan Panthers and Asian Stars. Indian fans are likely eager to witness some of the best batsmen in India in action, while many fans have also noticed that Suresh Raina, one of the most favourite players in Indian cricket, is not representing an Indian-based team, the Indian Royals. Let's find out the reason behind this move by the star Indian batter.

Why Suresh Raina is Not Part of Indian Royals in Asian Legends League 2026?

As the squads of the Asian Legends League 2026 have been announced on the public forum, Suresh Raina has been missing from the Indian Royals squad, as Suresh Raina captain Asian Stars, has been announced. The Asian Stars is one of the teams participating, which does not represent any single country, as it has been formed as a combined continental wildcard team, where players from a mix of nations come.

Suresh Raina Asian Stars is expected to bring more thrill to the league as this team will be playing players from different nations. The reason Suresh Raina is not part of the Indian Royals in Asian Legends League 2026 is that he is leading another team, Asian Stars, which also has other players from India as well.

Asian Legends League 2026 Squads

All six Asian Legends League 2026 squads are filled with star players who will bring nostalgia among the fans by playing. Here are the complete squads for the Asian Legends League 2026:

Indian Royals

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Naman Ojha, Ambati Rayudu, Yusuf Pathan, Rishi Dhawan, Saurabh Tiwary, Harbhajan Singh, Shadab Jakati, Abhimanyu Mithun, Sudeep Tyagi, Mohit Sharma, Rahul Yadav, Framan Ahmed, Subodh Bhati, Pawan Negi, and Shahbaz Nadeem.

Asian Stars

Suresh Raina (c), TM Dilshan, CP Rizwan, Angelo Perera, Dilshan Munaweera, Rohan Mustafa, Sheldon Jackson, Mehran Khan, Asela Gunaratne, Bipul Sharma, Isuru Udana, Zahoor Khan, Pawan Suyal, Munish Ansari, Sandeep Singh, Amitoze Singh, and Swapnil Patil.

Sri Lankan Royals

Thisara Perera (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Upul Tharanga, Milinda Siriwardane, Gihan Rupasinghe, Chaturanga De Silva, Jeevan Mendis, Ajantha Mendis, Seekuge Prasanna, Malintha Pushpakumara, Akalanka Ganegama, Thilina Thushara, Vikum Sanjaya, Mevan Fernando, TM Sampath, and Nishan Samarakoon.

Bangladeshi Tigers

Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mehedy Maruf, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Alok Kapali, Dhiman Ghosh, Abul Hasan Raju, Arafat Sunny, Muktar Ali, Saqlain Sajib, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Taposh Ghosh, Nazmul Hossain Milon, Nasir Hossain, Ariful Haque, and Farhad Hossain.

Afghanistan Pathans

Mohammad Shahzad (c), Asghar Afghan, Shoaib Khan, Munir Kakar, Shabir Noori, Shapoor Zadran, Ghulam Zadran, Khyber Umar, Khalid Khan Sangarkhil, Zahid Shirzad, Sahejad Pathan, Khalid Kail, Rokhan Barekzai, Mausif Khan, Batin Shah, and Waqarullah Ishaq.

Pakistan Panthers

Mohammad Hafeez (c), Sharjeel Khan, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Imran Nazir, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Shah, Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Irfan, Zulfiqar Babar, Rahat Ali, Hasan Raza, Yasir Bhatt, and Rana Naeem Anwar.