IPL 2019: Over-dependent on overseas stars, can Rajasthan Royals pull off another surprise?

Rajasthan Royals head into the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League on the back of a promising 2018 season. Despite their most high-profile star, Steve Smith, serving out a one-year ban, the team managed to reach the playoffs.

With Smith ready for a return to top-flight cricket, the Ajinkya Rahane-led team will be hoping to go a few steps further in IPL 2019.

Ever since they won the very first IPL trophy under Shane Warne, Rajasthan Royals have largely been a mid-table team. A third-place finish in 2013 has been their best performance since their dream run back in ‘08.

While a two-year ban [2016 and ‘17] from the T20 tournament for their involvement in spot-fixing dealt a heavy blow to the franchise, reaching the playoffs in the last three out of four seasons that they competed in is surely an encouraging sign.

History

The big changes for 2019

While Smith is the obvious difference between their 2018 and 2019 campaigns, the most significant addition that the Royals have made to their squad this season has to be hard-hitting Australian batsman Ashton Turner.

The 26-year-old gained attention with impressive performances for Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League, before showing his full potential in the recently-concluded ODI series in India.

Liam Livingstone and Oshane Thomas are two other signings that the Royals will be relying on this season.

English all-rounder Livingstone made his international debut in a T20I game against South Africa in June, 2017, but wasn’t picked for the national side again after playing two matches in that series. Over the past year, though, he has captained Lancashire and is fast gaining the reputation of a bright prospect for England in all formats.

Thomas, too, is an exciting young talent that Rajasthan have at their disposal. The fast-bowler made his international debut for West Indies late last year against India and has continued to impress since his Caribbean Premier League campaign. The 22-year-old picked a five-wicket haul in an ODI against England earlier this month, and is an in-form player heading into the tournament.

Over-dependence on foreign players

The most glaring problem for Rajasthan Royals ahead of this season is their over-dependence on foreign players.

The likes of Smith, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes form the fulcrum of their batting lineup. Even in their bowling department, Stokes and Jofra Archer will be required to play important roles.

But what happens when these players, along with Turner, Livingstone and Thomas, have to leave the tournament in preparation for the World Cup? They were left with a similar predicament ahead of the playoffs last year, when Buttler’s absence was felt strongly.

Indian players under World Cup radar

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the Royals easily have the least to worry about in terms of Team India and their World Cup squad. In fact, in Rajasthan’s entire squad, there isn’t a single player who has a definite chance of making it to India’s World Cup squad. Of course, funnier things have happened in cricket, but the truth is that even the likes of Rahane and Jaydev Unadkat are quite far from taking the flight to England.

That being said, let’s take a closer look at the Indian players in the Royals squad.

The outsider with a small chance is skipper Rahane, who was undoubtedly his most flamboyant self in his earlier years for the Royals. The right-hander had the rare ability to play lofted shots with minimal effort against pacers. But this ability has deserted him over the past couple of years, with his strike-rate barely crossing a run-a-ball. This, of course has also coincided with his ouster from India’s limited-overs sides.

Then there is the mercurial Sanju Samson. On his day, the right-hander can be as pleasing to the eye and as explosive as any top batsman, but those days don’t show up as consistently as one would expect them to.

About four years ago, Samson was touted as one of the future stars of international cricket but he has gradually fallen off the radar ever since. The 24-year-old top-scored for the Royals last season with with 441 runs, and the team will be hoping he bats with the same sense of responsibility this year as well.

Unadkat will spearhead the bowling department for Rajasthan Royals this year, too. The left-arm pacer set tongues wagging after taking home a whopping Rs 11.5 crore at last year’s auction. This year, the franchise made the smart move of putting him back in the auction pool and picking him up again but for a lower price of Rs 8.4 crore.

The big bucks aside, there’s no doubt that Unadkat is a valuable white-ball exponent. After captaining his state side Saurashtra to the Ranji Trophy final this year, the 27-year-old would be itching to put in a solid performance ahead of the World Cup. Just in case any selector is watching, and a spot for a left-arm seamer opens up.

The Royals’ spin department isn’t the most promising. In Shreyas Gopal and Krishnappa Gowtham, the team has two all-rounders who bowl off-spin and leg-break respectively. There’s New Zealand international Ish Sodhi, too. But he most likely won’t get much game-time with Smith, Buttler, Stokes and Archer in the fray.

The issue for Rajasthan Royals is that their Indian spinners aren’t really world-class.

“This is the strongest squad Rajasthan Royals have ever put together,” Shane Warne, the franchise’s brand ambassador, told Scroll.in during an interview recently. “Everybody involved with the franchise, including myself, will be disappointed if we don’t reach the playoffs. I’m expecting big things, and I’m sure everyone’s tipping us as the favourites.”

Well, we’re not sure about Rajasthan being the favourites, but they will surely need to have a flying start to the tournament - making the most of the available foreign players - if they are to make it to the playoffs.

Rajasthan Royals’ complete squad for IPL 2019

Ajinkya Rahane [C], Steve Smith, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Shubham Ranjane, Ashton Turner, Stuart Binny, Shreyas Gopal, Sudhesan Midhun, Jaydev Unadkat, Ish Sodhi, Prashant Chopra, Mahipal Lomror, Oshane Thomas, Aryaman Birla, Riyan Parag, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Liam Livingstone, Varun Aaron, Jos Buttler, Shashank Singh, Manan Vohra, Rahul Tripathi.