Rajasthan Royals Team Preview IPL 2023: Sanju Samson And Co Need to Level Up to Get Hands on Trophy

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Rajasthan Royals Team Preview IPL 2023: Rajasthan have to sort their top order - with the likes of Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson, they made changes in their batting order throughout last season

Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural IPL champions, are desperate to again lay their hands on the trophy and they got closer to it last year but ended up as runners-up. Sanju Samson and Co. have to level up their game if they hope to repeat their success from 2008.

They have a well-balanced unit and are one of the favourites on paper to get over the line but have been hit by a couple of late injury crises as they will miss the services of Prasidh Krishna and Obed McCoy. Rajasthan played collective cricket last season and the management backed their core team once again and retained it. The Royals made some smart signings at the mini-auction to strengthen their bench – Jason Holder, Joe Root and Adam Zampa have been added to the fold.

Also Read: RCB Team Preview IPL 2023

They will start their IPL 2023 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 2. Rajasthan have to sort their top order – with the likes of Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson, they made changes in their batting order throughout last season. The team management has to lock in the opening partner for Buttler. While in the bowling department, RR have to rely heavily on their spin duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin to produce some magic.

How They Fared Last Time

RR played quality cricket last season and reached the final of the tournament where they suffered a defeat against Gujarat Titans. They also finished second on the points table after the league stage with 9 wins in 14 matches.

Top Players to Watch Out For

Jos Buttler – England’s white-ball captain was at his very best last season as he also came close to breaking the record for most runs in an IPL season. Buttler smashed 863 runs in 17 matches at an excellent strike-rate of 149.05. RR need Buttler to replicate the same this season to boost their chances.

Also Read: Delhi Capitals Team Preview IPL 2023

Sanju Samson – All eyes will be on fan favourite Samson. The talented wicketkeeper-batter will be under pressure too as he will be eyeing to impress the Indian selectors for a place in the ODI World Cup squad later this year. Samson has not been given enough chances in the recent past for the Indian team. Last year, Samson scored 458 runs in 17 matches and has to improve his numbers to make a case for himself in the national side.

Yuzvendra Chahal – The Purple Cap winner of last season will be in the spotlight once again. He claimed 27 scalps last season but things didn’t work in his favour after IPL 2022 as he didn’t get enough chances in the Indian XI. He was part of the T20 World Cup squad but the team management didn’t pick him throughout the tournament. He also warmed the benches in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Australia. The wrist spinner has to work his magic to get the attention of the Indian selectors. He is also the key wicket-taking option in the RR set-up.

Strongest Playing XI: Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Trent Boult

Full Squad: Sanju Samson (c & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa, Jason Holder, Donovan Ferreira (wk), Kunal Rathore, Adam Zampa, KM Asif, Murugan Ashwin, Akash Vashisht, Abdul PA, Joe Root

Rajasthan Royals Full Schedule