IPL auction 2022 Rajasthan Royals strategy: The Royals are trophyless since winning the inaugural IPL title in 2008.
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The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League is not so far away. Ahead of the event, a mega auction will take place in Bengaluru on 12 and 13 February. This time there will be a total of 10 ten teams will be participating in the tournament. Apart from the existing eight teams, Lucknow and Ahmedabad are the new franchises this season.
A total of 590 players will go under the hammer, 370 Indian players and 270 overseas players. Some notable exclusions from the list are Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Sam Curran, Mitchell Starc, and Chris Gayle. Stokes and Root will play County Cricket in England, whereas Starc has not played the IPL for the last seven years.
The inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals are searching for their second IPL title. After winning the title in 2008, they have even struggled to qualify for the top-4 in most seasons. This time they have retained three players ahead of the IPL 2022 auction. Sanju Samson has been retained as the captain of the side. He has struggled as a captain, but he has been excellent as a batter for the Royals side. Jos Buttler was a no-brainer, he has been exceptional for the Royals as an opener. Buttler was brilliant in the T20 World Cup too, and he is a world-class player. The team has invested in Yashasvi Jaiswal as well. Jaiswal played some crucial knocks in IPL 2021, whereas the age is also on his side. Rajasthan Royals will create their team around these three.
IPL auction 2022 Rajasthan Royals strategy
Rajasthan Royals have always relied heavily on their overseas talents. The Royals have always struggled to get a solid Indian core, and they need to fix this hole first. The opening slot will be filled by Buttler and Jaiswal, and the middle-order batters should be their priority. Manish Pandey emerges as the best option for the Royals. Pandey has been a consistent performer, and he can be a great middle-order option for the side. Deepak Hooda is yet another player Rajasthan Royals would want to target in the auction. Hooda has changed his domestic side from Baroda to Rajasthan, and he can fit in the Royals setup. He has the ability to bat well in the lower order, whereas he can bowl off-spin too. Nitish Rana and Suresh Raina are some other names that can suit the Royals.
The Royals have always been thin in their pace bowling department. In IPL 2020, Jofra Archer led them, whereas, in IPL 2021, Jofra Archer missed the entire season. The idea of relying on a fully young bowling department has not paid them well enough. They need a couple of experienced pacers in order to groom the youngsters around them. Overseas bowlers like Trent Boult, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, and Lockie Ferguson can serve their cause, whereas there are a lot of Indian options in Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Mohammad Shami, etc. In terms of spin, they like to take wrist spinners in their team. Kuldeep Yadav can be grabbed at a lower price, whereas Shreyas Gopal and Amit Mishra can also be vital picks for the Royals. Some of the old players have backed Rajasthan Royals to go for Wanindu Hasaranga.
It is being said that this can be the last mega auction for a while, this makes the role of younger players important. Rajasthan Royals are famous for grooming their young players, and they will again target them. They have already retained Yashasavi Jaiswal in their team. Mahipal Lomror can be a priority pick for them, whereas they would want to get Karik Tyagi back as well. Lomror played some brilliant knocks last season, whereas Tyagi is also a brilliant pacer. The recent U-19 batch Indian players can get some contracts in the Royals camp.
Sanju Samson has said that the team is targeting to get a team for the next 6-7 years. All the eyes will be on the Rajasthan Royals this time around.
