Rajasthan’s Performance in Indian T20 League

Rajasthan Team Schedule for Indian T20 league 2023

Squad Analysis of Rajasthan

The team had an incredible season in 2022 and they expectedly didn’t make major changes to the squad. However, they definitely strengthened their side by bringing in much better players than they released before the auction. The team, that had entered the auction with a limited budget, was ready to spend it all for Harry Brook but in hindsight, they wouldn’t mind, especially because of the options that they have managed to line up after the auction.

Strengths – The squad looks well-rounded and considering the amount of young Indian talent the top-order possesses, they wouldn’t need Jos Buttler to pull off another 863 run season. Sanju Samson in the middle order brings the much needed stability and with another prolific season, he can push his case strongly for a place in the national setup. Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag will take care of finishing duties and even if the West Indian doesn’t come good, they have a similar big-hitter in Donovan Ferreira. Beyond these names, who make it to the XI automatically, they have a bunch of options in players like Joe Root, Jason Holder and Corbin Bosch.Even in bowling, while Obed McCoy is no Trent Boult yet, his performance last year showed that he can step up when the team needs him.

Weaknesses – Prasiddh Krishna had proved exceptional last year for the franchise and his injury would mean that someone like Kuldeep Sen would need to take that responsibility. While the pacer showed great speed last year, whether he has matured to take up a leadership role in the bowling department remains to be seen. Despite the composition of the pace attack, all eyes will be on the spin-duo of Ashwin and Chahal. That can also translate into over reliance on the duo and when both of them are unable to deliver a good spell, the team struggles a bit.

Rajasthan Team in Indian T20 League 2023

Rajasthan stunned everyone in 2008 when they went from rank outsiders to trophy winners in the inaugural season of the Indian T20 League under the talismanic skipper Shane Warne. In the following seasons, they couldn’t replicate the feat of the first season but became a fan favorite for being a team that kept punching above their weight with little-known names. After Warne, the captaincy went to Rahul Dravid and the team performed decently under him, even making it to the playoffs in 2013. They, however, couldn’t proceed further. The team was banned from the league for two years and returned to the league with a different approach. They bought big names at the auction and doled out big sums of money to acquire star players but success still eluded them.

Ahead of the mega-auctions of 2022, the management showed great faith in the young and talented Sanju Samson and he with Kumara Sangakkara went on to build a fantastic team for the 2022 season. Although Samson led well and received great contributions from his spin twins of Ashwin and Chahal, it was the batting of Jos Buttler that dominated the headlines and even took the team to the final of the tournament. In just 17 matches, the English white ball captain scored 863 runs with four centuries and four half-centuries. However, in their second final appearance, Rajasthan failed to get past Gujarat and ended as the runners-up. The result aside, the team still showed why they deserved to be in the final with a very successful campaign behind them. That would mean that they would start the 2023 season too as strong contenders.

They made some smart purchases on the auction table ahead of the 2023 season and brought in a bunch of dependable and exciting names. From West Indian Jason Holder to England’s Joe Root and even South Africa’s big-hitter Donovan Ferreira, all the purchases by Rajasthan could easily be match winners on their days and that makes the team a force to reckon with. However, the way he performed last year, the team will definitely miss the injured pacer Prasiddh Krishna in this season.