From a force to reckon with, Rajasthan Royals slowly turned into perennial underachievers in IPl. With their skipper Steve Smith barred from IPl, can the new side led by Rahane be a top gunIJ Harshit Bisht assesses
Champions in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier league (IPl) but banned from the last two seasons because of a corruption scandal, Rajasthan Royals' objective of bringing salvation to their prestige is going to be one tough journey this season.
Some prominent names missing from the squad will be Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Tim Southee, Ben Cutting, Karun Nair, Chris Morris and, of course, the now tainted Steve Smith. Though former skipper and mentor of the 2008 champion team, Shane Warne will be around with his off-the-field support as team manager, it won't be the same for Royals who are in the game this time without boasting of a star studded line-up, but with only a few aces up their sleeve.
NEW PICKS
In the players’ auction ahead of this year’s IPl, Rajasthan Royals broke banks and added English all rounder Ben Stokes and Indian pacer Jaydev Unadkat into their squad for the whopping amount of Rs 12.5 crore and Rs 11.5 crore, respectively making them the top two picks of this year’s edition. Both these players were top performers for Rising Pune Supergiants in the 2017 edition and major contributors in the team's run-up to the Final. Their inclusion will boost the core strength of the side.
Stokes, bought for Rs 14 crore in his debut season scored 316 runs in 12 games along with 12 crucial wickets before leaving for England for Champions’ Trophy preparations, skipping the IPl Final where his side lost to Mumbai by a solitary run. However, he was awarded the Player of the Tournament for his exploits.
As with Stokes, another RPS player Undakat’s second innings in international cricket got a push in IPl 2017, where he finished as the second highest wicket-taker after Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Unadkat’s 24 wickets of 12 games not only received fan appreciation but the 26-year-old pacer was also graced with a call from the national side for the shortest format of the game.
Apart from the RPS duo, Rajasthan also added Big Bash league 2018 Hobart Hurricanes showstoppers D'Arcy Short and Jofra Archer for Rs 4 crore and Rs 7.2 crore, respectively
The 27-year-old Australian all-rounder Short was the leading run scorer in the BBl season, finishing with 572 runs in just 11 innings with an average of 57.20. His golden run with the bat also helped him receive summons for the national team for the first time when he featured in the T20 tri-series featuring England and New Zealand. The Australian in his debut series, excelled in the highest successful run chase in international T20s with a 76 off 44 balls against New Zealand in February.
It was the 23-year-old Jofra Archer’s Rs 7.2 crore bid which came as a surprise . However, the Sussex all-rounder who hasn't done anything great as of now but has the capability to turn the tables at any point which is a big asset, and Rajasthan Royals will rely on this young gun in the slog overs. Adding to the list of these new picks, explosive English wicketkeeper batsman Jos Buttler needs no introduction to cricketing fans all round the globe. However, the English player's stats of 527 runs in the 24 games he featured in do not reveal the correct measure of his potential.
Apart from these fancy players who have already proved their worth in the international level, Rajasthan Royals have invested in some unidentified domestic players like Prashant Chopra and Krishnappa Gowtham who over time have shown their capabilities at the very best.
The 25-year-old Prashant Chopra who plays for Himachal Pradesh in the domestic circuit will be the first pick for the opening spot alongside skipper Ajinkya Rahane.
While 29 years old Karnataka's all rounder Krishnappa Gowtham who finished with 34 wickets in 8 games will aim to grab every chance in justifying his worth of Rs 6.2 crores.
PlUSES
Rajasthan Royals' biggest asset ahead of this year's edition is the number of match winners the franchise has included in the squad. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane who has a terrific record in IPl with Rajasthan Royals will be the flag bearer for the side providing strong start with the bat. Rahane was the second highest run scorer in the 2015 edition with Royals where he finished with 540 runs in 14 innings.
Apart from Rahane, Sanju Samson will be another big asset for Rajasthan. The 23 year old batsman from Kerala was bought for Rs 8 crores using RTM and is undboutedly a big player in making. In the previous edition playing for Delhi, Samson was a consistent performer and scored 386 run.
Since the start of IPl, overseas players have always played a key role in Rajasthan's success whether it was the magical spinner Shane Warner or the star all rounder Shane Watson. And following the same tradition this time even, Rajasthan added Ben Stokes, D'Arcy Short, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer to do the same honours.
Though it will be the first season for Short and Archer in the tournament but both these young lads would like to resume their innings from the same end where they ended for Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash league.
The biggest pick in IPl for the second consecutive season is Ben Stokes would be looking to recreate that same magic he did for Pune last year. Stokes who is among the top all rounders of the world hasn't seen good times for a while but the star English player will aim very high to leave the same impression.
Following the footsteps of his countrymen Stokes, another explosive English player Jos Buttler will be the key man. The English keeper batsman is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous batsmen in the current era because of his power hitting in the slog overs will definitely like to wash the jinx of poor performance in the IPl.
MINUSES
Though Rajasthan tried to pick key players who can have a big impact in the game with their Individual performances, the 2008 champions fail to have the proper bench strength.
Apart from the fancy overseas all rounder which they have added spending crores of money, the lack of quality Indian players can be the cause of worry for the team management.
After the exclusion of Steve Smith, the team’s batting lineup faced a huge blow and now they’ll heavily depend on the likes of Skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson and IPl 10 find Rahul Tripathi.
In bowling, barring Jaydev Unadkat and Dhawal Kulkarni, the team doesn’t have any known pacer to lead the attack. And they will miss the presence of Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Chris Morris and Tim Southee.