Overview
Rajasthan Royals won the first Indian Premier League in 2008. Since then, last season was the closest they’ve come to winning the trophy again. Royals had an impressive 2022 auction, they managed to get some big names in their team and looked like the strongest team on paper. And they sure did translate it to on-field success. They finished 2nd on the points table with 9 wins. They lost to Gujarat in Qualifier 1 but beat RCB in Qualifier 2 to meet Gujarat in the Finals. Unfortunately, they couldn’t cross the final hurdle and lost, but they impressed the league with their performance.
Jos Butler was their star with the bat. He was the leading run-scorer last season winning the orange cap with 863 runs in 16 matches with 4 centuries. Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Prasiddh Krishna were the stars with the ball. Chahal won the Purple Cap being the leading wicket-taker taking 27 wickets in 16 matches. Rajasthan was arguably the best team last season; the stats reflect that. The royals couldn’t win the trophy with a fantastic team last season, so they had to find a few players in the auction who would fill the gaps they had, and so they did. So, can the team from the land of kings finally get past the final hurdle and bring glory back to the pink city - Jaipur? Let’s find out.
How They Fared in the Mini-Auction?
As discussed, Rajasthan Royals assembled a mega-squad in 2022. Rajasthan’s core is solid and capable of winning matches. One of the main reasons I rate them so highly and back them to do well this season is their consistency. They have not chopped and changed too much. They retained most of their players and added reinforcements in the auction.
Retained Players: Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Kuldeep Sen, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldip Yadav.
Released Players: Anunay Singh, Corbin Bosch, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Karun Nair, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Shubham Garhwal, Tejas Baroka.
They had a couple of hiccups in their playing XI which didn’t let them extract the team’s full potential. The bridge between their middle order and tail was weak. Riyan Parag didn’t perform as well as they’d like him to. And the Ravichandran Ashwin experiment at no.7 didn’t work. So, they needed a dynamic pace-bowling all-rounder to not only bridge that gap but also be able to give them a full 4-over bank.
They bought the following players in the Auction:
Abdul Basith - 20 Lakhs INR
Jason Holder - 5.75 Crore INR
Akash Vashisht - 20 Lakh INR
Joe Root - 1 Crore INR
Murugan Ashwin - 20 Lakh INR
Adam Zampa - 1.5 Crore INR
KM Asif - 30 Lakh INR
Donovan Ferreira - 50 Lakh INR
Kunal Singh Rathore - 20 Lakh INR
Rajasthan didn’t need too many players, and considering their needs, they got Jason Holder, a dynamic pace-bowling all-rounder who can also bat at the top of the order. They also got an additional overseas specialist spinner - Adam Zampa, not sure where they would play him but it’s good to have a world-class spinner as a backup. They got Joe Root, a member of the elite fab four for 1 crore. Root is not as impressive in T20s as he is in Tests. But hey, who knows what superstar cricketers can do? Maybe he has reinvented his T20 game and can bat at the top. So, it’s fair to say that the Royals had an impressive auction and got what they wanted.
How Does 2023 Look?
Kumar Sangakkara and Sanju Samson led Rajasthan Royals to their first final appearance in 14 years. They couldn’t lift the trophy but it was an impressive feat that the Royals of 2021 couldn’t have imagined. But the team would’ve wanted to be on the podium lifting the trophy themselves. So, do the Royals have a team to ram through the final door and lift the most glorious silverware in T20 cricket?
Squad: Sanju Samson (C), Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Kuldeep Sen. Kuldip Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, KM Asif, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Murugan Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Akash Vashisht, Jason Holder, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Abdul Basith, Joe Root, Adam Zampa
I expect “Jos the boss” to lead Rajasthan’s campaign again this season. One of the best white-ball players in the world right now had a stupendous season last year. If he can get going this season, there are no teams that can stop his rampage. His opening partner, Yashashvi Jaiswal has been in incredible form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy since 2022. If he can play the role of going ballistic at the start to perfection, it adds several feet to Rajasthan’s batting lineup.
Then, the main man, Sanju Samson comes in at number 3. The Royals like to call him “Chettan”, meaning “big brother”. And he’ll have to play the role of a captain and a batsman like a big brother. I have been impressed by his captaincy. Surely he has strategic brilliance and is quite good on the field. But I am fond of his off-the-field leadership. Their social media give us the impression that the environment in the team is very happy and relaxed. And I believe Sanju works well with Sanga, and together they’ve managed to create an environment where every player thrives. If Rajasthan wants to go big this season, Sanju’s performance with the bat will be critical.
Devdutt Padikkal had a decent 2022, but if he wants to solidify his place in the team, he needs to step up and score more runs and win more games for Rajasthan. Shimron Hetmyer at number 5 is probably Rajasthan’s biggest strength. Hetmyer is an interesting batsman. He can anchor a run-chase when necessary and take it deep and finish it off, or he can come in and smash boundaries and massive sixes in a flurry. Hetmyer was very impressive for Rajasthan last season, and he’s a crucial cog in their path to success.
Now, the controversial number 6 spot. Rajasthan has backed Riyan for 3 seasons now, and he’s yet to come good. Yes, he won them a couple of games in 2020, but he hasn’t given Rajasthan the stability and all-around contribution a number 6 player would. If he doesn’t step up and perform more consistently till the halfway stage, I’m afraid Rajasthan might run out of patience. Jason Holder is a phenomenal buy who can bat anywhere and give you 4 overs and heaps of wickets. We all know how effective he was with Sunrisers, so I don’t think we need to talk about him.
Yuzi and Ashwin’s spin duo worked wonders for them last season and they’ll want the same this season. Especially at their home in Jaipur, where the ball spins a lot, they'll want the spin twins to wreak havoc. Trent Boult was as good as he usually is and got several critical breakthroughs in the powerplay and at the death. Prasidh Krishna, who was a pivotal member of their fast-bowling lineup is unfortunately injured and will miss the entire season. Sandeep Sharma has been named as his replacement, a smart and effective pacer. Kuldeep Sen is still quite young and will evolve through the season, he’s been impressive so far and I am sure that the India cap will have taught him a few things.
Their best playing XI according to me:
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Jos Buttler ✈️
Sanju Samson (C / WK)
Devdutt Padikkal
Shimron Hetmyer ✈️
Riyan Parag
Jason Holder ✈️
Ravichandran Ashwin
Trent Boult ✈️
Yuzvendra Chahal
Kuldeep Sen
Backups: Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Sandeep Sharma, Adam Zampa, Joe Root.
Only one change in this playing XI from last season, Holder comes in for McCoy. This shows how solid their core is. They get 7 solid batting options with this XI. Ashwin and Boult can also score some important runs if needed. Batting till number 9 is intimidating for other teams and I am sure this will work for them. Their bowling is a bit restricted with this lineup, with 5 full-time bowlers with Parag being able to bowl a couple of overs. Here’s where Rajasthan can utilize the impact-player rule to its advantage.
How Can The Royals Utilize the New Rules?
Here’s where things get interesting. I don’t like the bowling options this playing XI provides, but teams can sub out players and utilize the new rules. In Rajasthan’s bowling innings, they can sub out Devdutt Padikkal or Yashasvi Jaiswal for one of these three players: Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, and Murugan Ashwin. Based on what the pitch demands, Sandeep Sharma should be the preferred pace bowling option and Murugan Ashwin should be the preferred spinner. This gives them 7 bowling options. With 6 capable of bowling 4 overs. This allows them to switch around bowlers if they’re having a bad day and manage the run rate with variations.
This is a decent side, and with the right players stepping up at the right moments, this team has the caliber to go deep, the question is, with the home-away format back, can they?
Prediction Time 🔮
A good batting team with some incredible bowling options, does this side have enough to make it to the final four? I think so. I would back Rajasthan to make the playoffs again, and if they do, they might even go all the way. They have the ability and skill in their team to lift the coveted trophy. But, the issue with Rajasthan is consistency. They have had good sides for several years now, but they lack consistency. 2022 was wonderful, but I am not sure if they can repeat the same performance this season. Sangakkara has had an impact on the culture, and he might just be the element they were missing all these years. We’ll find out as the season progresses, they’re one of my favorites to win this season, and we’ll see how Sanju manages his troops. Halla Bol.
Injury Update
Prasidh Krishna (Ruled Out): Replacement - Sandeep Sharma
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