Rajasthan Royals is one team that has been in and out of the limelight after the first season. Captained by Sanju Samson, the franchise always has had a good batting line-up but their bowling has been vulnerable. At times the bowling looked over-reliant on Jofra Archer. They were spoiling their party by making decisions like having Rahul Tewatia and Riyan Parag as their frontline spinners. However, this time they have made a more balanced squad. Here is a quick analysis of the Rajasthan Royals:
Rajasthan Royals Team for IPL 2022:
| Player Name | Position | Player Name | Position |
| Sanju Samson | Keeper/Batter | Trent Boult | Fast Bowler |
| Jos Butler | Keeper/Batter | Anunay Singh | All-Rounder |
| Devdutt Padikkal | Batter | Kuldeep Sen | Bowler |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | Batter | Karun Nair | Batter |
| Shimron Hetmyer | Batter | Dhruv Jurel | Batter |
| Riyan Parag | All-Rounder | Kuldeep Yadav | All-Rounder |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | All-Rounder | Shubham Garhwal | All-Rounder |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | Spinner | Nathan Coulter-Nile | All-Rounder |
| KC Carriapa | Spinner | James Neesham | All-Rounder |
| Navdeep Saini | Fast Bowler | Rassie Van Der Dussen | Batter |
| Obed McCoy | Fast Bowler | Daryl Mitchell | All-Rounder |
| Prasidh Krishna | Fast Bowler | Tejas Baroka | All-Rounder |
Strengths of Rajasthan Royals:
The strength of the team lies in their top-heavy batting. They have 4 to 5 settled and experienced batters. Yashasvi, Sanju, Butler, Padikkal, and Hetmyer is lineup that can scare any opposition. The addition of Rassie Van Der Dussen at the base price was a pure steal. Their spin department looks formidable too. Ravi Ashwin, Cariappa, Yuzi, and Tejas Baroka are good spin-wizards. Fast bowling looks crisp with Boult, McCoy, Coulter-Nile, Krishna, and Saini.
Weakness of RR:
The position of a finisher is very critical. If Shimron Hetmyer can take that job, then it will be great or else RR looks well-short of a finisher. Riyan Parag can be an option. One case can also be where Jos Butler bats down the order and Devdutt and Jaiswal open the batting. In that case, Butler can be the finisher. However, they need to find a way to fit, James Neesham in the first 11, so they have the best finisher among the available choices.
Opportunities for Rajasthan Royals:
Navdeep Saini was warming the RCB bench for quite some time. At Rajasthan Royals’ pavilion, he is certain to get a few games. Prasidh Krishna who is now a regular in One-Day International cricket for India can make a case for himself in the shortest format. Shikhar Dhawan is aging quickly and India will be looking for left-handed openers in the ODI format. Devdutt Padikkal and Yashasvi Jaiswal, both can make a strong case for themselves.
Threats to RR:
Their self-destructive nature is the biggest problem, like RCB. They always have a good team. Shreyas Gopal and Mayank Markande were warming the bench and Riyan Parag was bowling a quota of 4 overs. This decision made little sense. Also, how they are going to settle Yashasvi, Devdutt, and Butler’s conundrum at the top is a very big question?
Rajasthan Royals Expected Playing XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Butler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson(c), Rassie Van Der Dussen/ James Neesham, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Trent Boult, Yuzi Chahal, Prasidh Krishna.
X-Factor Players:
Rassie Van Der Dussen is one player who always slips down the radar. He will be key and how RR makes effective use of him will be crucial. Trent Boult and his performance will be key to the success of the team. The team’s performance also relies on the batting of Sanju and Jos. These big names will have to stand up to their reputation.
To know more go to the official pages of Rajasthan Royals.