The world famous Indian Premier League that we all are eagerly waiting for is going to kick start from 19th September in UAE. All teams are gearing up for the new season of IPL. Rajasthan won the inaugural IPL title by beating CSK in the finals in 2008. But they failed to deliver a consistent performance in the next twelve seasons.
Let’s see what’s in store for RR in the upcoming IPL season.
New Additions:
Robin Uthappa (3 crore), David Miller (75 lakhs), Anuj Rawat, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Curran, Jayadev Unadkat, Anirudha Ashok Joshi, Akash Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Oshane Thomas.
Players bought in: ELEVEN
Full squad:
Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Steve Smith, Robin Uthappa, David Miller, Ankit Rajpoot, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Akash Singh, Oshane Thomas, Andrew Tye, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tewatia, Shashank Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anirudha Joshi, Tom Curran, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Anuj Rawat.
Strengths:
Rajasthan have got a great leader in the form of Steve Smith. They have a good bunch of batters in their side. RR have Jos Buttler in their side who is one of the most explosive openers in limited overs cricket at the moment. He performed well for RR by scoring 311 runs in 11 matches in the last season.
Rajasthan will be hoping for the same kind of performance from him this year also. They have got great wicket keeping options in the form of Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Robin Uthappa.
The trio of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler played a huge role when England won their first ODI WC in 2019. All three are potential match winners. They have got two of the best finishers in limited overs format in the form of Stokes and Miller.
Weaknesses:
Rajasthan lacks quality in their fast bowling department. Apart from Jofra Archer who is their go-to bowler, their team doesn’t have any other promising pacer who can give them wickets at a crucial time.
Rajasthan have made too many changes this year and they have brought in eleven new players. Getting a team combination right at the start of the tournament would be a difficult task for them.
Opportunities:
Rajasthan have got a great bunch of Indian youngsters in the form of Shreyas Gopal, Riyan Parag, Mayank Markande and Mahipal Lomror. These youngsters have a great opportunity to perform well at the big stage and grab the eyeballs of everyone.
Steve Smith will be looking to lead by example. On paper Rajasthan team doesn’t look strong. If they are aiming for a good IPL season, Smith along with David Miller, Robin Uthappa, Sanju Samson have to be at their best.
Yashasvi Jaiswal a young prodigy from Mumbai who was an important member of India under-19 WC team which emerged as runner-up in February 2020. He will certainly be a player to watch out for in this year’s IPL.
Threats:
Lack of quality all-rounder can be a potential threat for RR going into the new season. Apart from Ben Stokes their team doesn’t have any other reliable all-rounder. If he gets injured or becomes unavailable due to some reason their team doesn’t have any other backup.
Lack of quality in the spin bowling department is another threat for them. They have decent options in the form of Mayank Markande and Shreyas Gopal but, both of them have very little experience. If they get their team combination right at the start of the tournament they have a good chance of doing well.
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