How should Rajasthan Royals approach IPL 2020 Auction?

Winners of the inaugural edition, Rajasthan Royals (RR) have not quite achieved the level of consistency that they would have liked to. They are yet to reach the final after the 2008 season. A few playoff appearances and third place finishes sandwiched between disappointing seasons; such has been the story of the Royals in the […]
 
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How should Rajasthan Royals approach IPL 2020 Auction?

Winners of the inaugural edition, Rajasthan Royals (RR) have not quite achieved the level of consistency that they would have liked to. They are yet to reach the final after the 2008 season. A few playoff appearances and third place finishes sandwiched between disappointing seasons; such has been the story of the Royals in the IPL.

The Royals have announced Steven Smith as their skipper for the upcoming edition. They parted ways with Ajinkya Rahane, who has played the most number of matches for Rajasthan Royals. Rahane was traded to Delhi Capitals for Mayank Markande and Rahul Tewatia. K Gowtham and Dhawal Kulkarni were the other major trades and Ankit Rajpoot was traded in from KXIP.

Also Read: How should KXIP approach IPL 2020 Auction?

Rajasthan Royals released as many as 11 players ahead of the IPL 2020 auction. Though there were no big or unexpected names released, the franchise did let go some overpriced players.

List of retained and released players by Rajasthan Royals:

Squad: Steve Smith, Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Mahipal Lomror, Varun Aaron, Manan Vohra, Mayank Markande (Transferred), Rahul Tewatia (Transferred), Ankit Rajpoot (Transferred)

Released: Ashton Turner, Oshane Thomas, Shubham Ranjane, Prashant Chopra, Ish Sodhi, Aryaman Birla, Jaydev Unadkat, Rahul Tripathi, Stuart Binny, Liam Livingstone and Sudheshan Midhun

How should Rajasthan Royals approach IPL 2020 Auction?
How should Rajasthan Royals approach IPL 2020 Auction?

Steve Smith will be tasked with the responsibility of leading the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020

Here we take a deep dive into how the Royals should approach the IPL 2020 auction, analyzing possible strategies and identifying potential candidates they could look out for:

Available Slots: 11 (four overseas)

Purse remaining: Rs 28.90 cr

Areas of concern Rajasthan Royals need to address in IPL 2020 Auction:

By including Rajpoot over Kulkarni, RR have preferred adding raw pace. But apart from Varun Aoron, Rajpoot and Archer, Rajasthan do not have any decent pacer in  their squad. Fast bowling will be the major area of focus for the Royals.

Also Read: How should Delhi Capitals approach IPL 2020 Auction?

Despite having stalwarts like Buttler, Smith and Stokes, RR need some good Indian batting to make the bench stronger. Also, after releasing Binny and trading K Gowtham, they lack firepower in the lower middle order. So finishing is one area of concern for the Royals ahead of the auctions.

Players Rajasthan Royals will probably buy in IPL 2020 Auction:

Rajasthan Royals will be looking to get back Jaydev Unadkat at a lower price. Among other pace bowling options, Sam Curran, Anrich Nortje, Alzarri Joseph and Pat Cummins will be in the radar. Sam Curran and Pat Cummins also provide more than handy support with the bat. Joseph and Nortje, who can generate raw pace, will be suited for their home pitch.

Among batsmen, Rajasthan will be looking for someone who can ply the finisher’s role. Sam Billings, Marcus Stoinis and Colin de Grandhomme will be the ideal choices. But given the presence of the strong overseas contingent, RR will find it tough to accommodate the above mentioned options. However, they would like to have them as backups in case of unavailability of the main overseas players.

The focus will be on bringing in some Indian talent who can do the finishing role. It will not be surprising if they do not complete their full overseas quota.