If the Royals go far, they could also find themselves without Buttler at the end of the season
Himanshu Agrawal
Where Rajasthan Royals finished last season
The Royals started strong winning four of their first five games but could only win one of the next six. Ultimately, they finished fifth with 14 points, two short of qualifying for the playoffs.
RR squad for IPL 2024
Jos Buttler* (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore* (wk), Sanju Samson (capt, wk), Shimron Hetmyer*, Rovman Powell*, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Donovan Ferreira*, Kunal Singh Rathore (wk . ), Shubham Dubey, Riyan Parag, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult*, Nandre Burger*, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa* and Abid Mushtaq
*Players abroad
Player Availability: Prasidh ruled out
Prashid Krishna was banned for the second season in a row. He picked up a quadriceps injury during the Ranji Trophy and underwent surgery on 23 February. The Royals have yet to name a replacement.
If the Royals make it to the play-offs, they may be without Jos Buttler, who will lead England in a five-match T20I series against Pakistan at home starting on May 22.
What’s new with RR this year?
Very. First, they traded Devdutt Padikkal to Lucknow Super Giants for Avesh Khan. In the auction, Royals bought Rovman Powell, Nandre Burger, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shubham Dubey and Abid Mushtaq.
The good – Jasiwal, Jurel and spinners
Royals boast an experienced spin trio of R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa. Zaba may not always start, but he could play an important role as the tournament progresses and the pitches begin to wear down.
Last season, Chahal grabbed 21 wickets to finish as Royals’ highest wicket-taker. This took his total IPL tally to 187, the the most in tournament history. Having been left out of both the Indian teams, he will have a point to prove.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel, who are now India players, will be looking to keep the confidence of their good performance in the Tests against England alive. Jaiswal had an impressive season last year too when he smashed 625 runs at a strike rate of 163.61, including a century and five half-centuries. One fifty came off 13 balls, an IPL record. Batting in the lower order, Jurel scored 134 runs in 88 deliveries last year, at a strike rate of 172.72.
The not so good – lack of quality all-rounders
After releasing Jason Holder, the Royals did not select an all-rounder in the auction. This means that despite the Impact Player rule, they may end up with just five bowling options.
However, the Royals will be buoyed by Riyan Parag’s brilliant show in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was the top scorer in the tournament, with 510 runs at an average of 85.00 and a strike rate of 182.79. This included seven half-centuries in ten innings. Parag also took 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.29. The big question is: can he do it in the IPL too?
Schedule information
Royals’ four games in the first leg of the IPL are long distance. They begin with two home games against LSG and Delhi Capitals on March 24 and 28 respectively, before traveling to Mumbai for a game on April 1. Four days later, they play at home to Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The big question
Himanshu Agrawal is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo