Rajasthan Royals (RR) will get their IPL journey underway once again as they search for an elusive 2nd title. They finished 3rd in the league stage last season and lost in Qualifier 2 to runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Despite being the first side ever to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) in its inaugural season in 2008, RR have found success hard to come by since then. In the last 6 seasons, they failed to reach the playoffs 4 times.
Former RR captain and mentor Rahul Dravid has returned to the franchise, this time as the new head coach, taking up a new challenge after winning the T20 World Cup with India last year.
Sanju Samson will captain a side that no longer includes RR stalwarts such as Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravichandran Ashwin. The franchise thus splashed the cash on bowlers in the mega auction, bringing in the likes of Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, etc.
Samson, however, underwent finger surgery last month. Therefore, he will play only as a batter at the start of the season, likely as an Impact Sub. Riyan Parag has been named as the stand-in captain until Samson gets the go-ahead for fielding and keeping duties.
Squad:
Sanju Samson ©, Akash Madhwal, Ashok Sharma, Dhruv Jurel, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jofra Archer, Kumar Kartikeya, Kunal Singh Rathore, Kwena Maphaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Tushar Deshpande, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Wanindu Hasaranga, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yudhvir Singh
Probable Playing XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Sanju Samson
Nitish Rana
Riyan Parag
Dhruv Jurel
Shimron Hetmyer
Shubham Dubey
Wanindu Hasaranga
Jofra Archer
Fazalhaq Farooqi
Tushar Deshpande
Impact Player options: Sandeep Sharma, Akash Madhwal, Maheesh Theekshana
Key players:
Yashasvi Jaiswal
The best young batter in the world will be looking to make a statement this season and hunt the Orange Cap. In each of the last 2 seasons, he hit a century. However, after finishing in the top 5 in 2023 (625 runs, 48 avg, 164 SR), he finished as the 15th-highest run-scorer in 2024 (435 runs, 31 avg, 156 SR). A player of his caliber is certainly more than capable of topping the charts, and in the absence of Buttler and Samson recovering from finger surgery, he may need to shoulder the run-scoring burden.
Jofra Archer
The England speedster has come home. He began his IPL career at RR in 2018 and picked up 46 wickets in 35 games in 3 seasons until 2020. After years blighted by injury troubles, he has recently remained injury-free, representing England in India earlier this year and then playing in the Champions Trophy. RR will hope that he can take over the strike bowler mantle for Samson’s side. His all-phase abilities are unquestionable – but his injury record is the main point of concern. RR will want to manage his workload and ensure that he’s fully available for crunch games.
Strengths
Top-order, front-line bowlers
Rajasthan’s (potentially) all-Indian top 5 of Jaiswal, Samson, Rana, Parag, and Jurel, backed by Hetmyer and Dubey, looks like a strong first-choice batting lineup. Archer and Hasaranga make for a spicy strike duo, supplemented by Deshpande.
Weaknesses
Batting depth
While the first-choice batting lineup looks strong, RR’s batting depth is a problem. Hetmyer being their only overseas batter and other options including the likes of 13-year-old Suryavanshi means that if any of the frontliners have injury troubles or go through a lean patch of form, they don’t have much backup.
Fixtures:
March 23: vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
March 26: vs Kolkata Knight Riders
March 30: vs Chennai Super Kings
April 5: vs Punjab Kings
April 9: vs Gujarat Titans
April 13: vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
April 16: vs Delhi Capitals
April 19: vs Lucknow Supergiants
April 24: vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
April 28: vs Gujarat Titans
May 1: vs Mumbai Indians
May 4: vs Kolkata Knight Riders
May 12: vs Chennai Super Kings
May 16: vs Punjab Kings
They may have won the inaugural IPL, but RR have found it difficult to win a second title. With the return of Rahul Dravid at the coaching helm, they will hope they can turn things around. With a strong bowling attack and an impressive list of front-line batters, they can certainly go all the way this time around.
