5 Players Rajasthan Royals (RR) can target in IPL 2021 Auction
Rajasthan Royals (RR) once again failed to live upto their expectations in the IPL 2020 season as they finished the season on the eight spot. Led by Steve Smith, the Royals could never find any sort of momentum last season. This has forced the Rajasthan Royals management to make a few big changes ahead of the 2021 season.
Also Read: IPL 2021 | 3 Players Rajasthan Royals (RR) can target in trading window
RR have released their captain, Steve Smith prior to the auction. Sanju Samson, the talented Indian batsman will lead the side in the 2021 season. In another big announcement, Kumar Sangakkara will join the Royals as the Director of Cricket.
Released: Steve Smith, Ankit Rajpoot, Oshane Thomas, Akash Singh, Varun Aaron, Tom Curran, Anirudha Joshi, Shashank Singh
Squad: Sanju Samson (c), Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Robin Uthappa
Slots Remaining: 8 (3 overseas)
Rajasthan Royals (RR) have the third-highest purse with Rs 34.85 crore after releasing eight players. Some of the players they can target in the auction are:
Dawid Malan
Dawid Malan can be a great addition to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) squad for IPL 2021
Dawid Malan, the world’s leading T20I batsman can be a great replacement for Steve Smith. Ben Stokes opened the innings in the final few games of the last season, with Jos Butler dropping to number five. As things stand, Ben Stokes is expected to open the innings, while Samson will come in at his regular position at number three. Dawid Malan can be a perfect fit for Rajasthan Royals at number four, irrespective of the fact whether Butler opens the innings or bats at number five.
Also Read: IPL 2021 | 5 Players Mumbai Indians (MI) Can Target In The Auction
Alex Hales
Alex Hales is the leading scorer of KFC BBL 10. He can be a good opening option for Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Alex Hales had a swashbuckling BBL 10 season where he scored 535 runs in 14 matches at an average of 41. The English batsman is expected to be the top scorer of the season. He will be under the radar of several franchises ahead of the auction. Hales can prove to be a good target for Rajasthan Royals given they possess an English core of Stokes, Butler and Archer. More importantly, the Royals changed their opening pair quite too often last season, but with Hales in their squad, RR certainly would have addressed this problem.
Chris Morris
Chris Morris was released by RCB ahead of the auction
More often than not, Jofra Archer was the best bowler in the Rajasthan Royals squad last season, providing them with crucial breakthroughs consistently. RR will target a top notch overseas bowler who can provide a helping hand to Archer and take some pressure off him. Chris Morris who was released by RCB can be a potential target for Rajasthan. He is good with the ball in the middle stages and one of the best in the business when it comes to death overs. In addition, he can be good finisher with the bat at times.
Umesh Yadav
Umesh Yadav can bolster Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) pace bowling attack
Umesh Yadav was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the auction in February. With an overseas limit of just four players in the playing eleven, it is important to have a good squad balance. Ben Stokes, Jos Butler and Jofra Archer are almost certain to start every match, given they are fit. This means that RR will have to consider other domestic bowling options. Umesh Yadav is an experienced bowler and can certainly add value to the Rajasthan bowling attack. More importantly, the franchise lacks depth in their Indian fast bowling department with Kartik Tyagi and Jaydev Unadkat among the only two options at their disposal.
Mitchell Starc
Mitchell Starc has not played in the IPL since 2016
Mitchell Starc is another potential target for Rajasthan Royals. Starc has not played in the IPL since 2015. However, if he does confirm his presence for the 2021 season, there are not many bowlers better than the Australian pacer. A fast bowling duo of Jofra Archer and Mitchell Starc can certainly make Rajasthan Royals a title-winning squad.