IPL Auction 2022: Can Rajasthan Royals find the right mix to climb out from the bottom?

It is hard to not be reminded of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League every time one thinks of Rajasthan Royals. Led by Shane Warne, the Royals announced their arrival with a bang and became the first IPL champions.

However, apart from their social media handles possibly being the best in the business now, not a lot has gone right for Rajasthan Royals in recent years.

They have participated in 12 IPL seasons and made the playoffs just four times. Rajasthan have tried to hit the reset button on several occasions but none of it helped them qualify for the final a second time.

Royals will have Rs 62 crore in their purse, having retained three players in the form of Sanju Samson (Rs 14 crore), Jos Buttler (Rs 10 crore), and Yashasvi Jaiswal (Rs 4 crore).

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In 2018, they acquired England all-rounder Ben Stokes as the most expensive player for Rs 12.5 crore. Ahead of IPL 2021, they acquired South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris for a staggering Rs 16.25 crore, making him the most expensive player in IPL history. But none of the big purchases helped trigger a revival and push for title.

But there is another mega auction on the horizon, and it presents another opportunity for Rajasthan Royals to find the right mix. They have retained just three players and have to build their bowling department from scratch. A franchise that originally had a reputation of being a collection of non superstar names who collectively punched above their weight, have not been hesitant to splash the cash on big names in recent times. It’s the balance that has been missing.

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Kumar Sangakkara, Director of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals, said he is confident the franchise has prepared well for the auction.

“Our analytical assessments are detailed, right from the information we’ve collected on players to getting them integrated into a central database. We further filter the data, backed with a robust analytic process which enables us to arrive at the right metrics further refining our overall player identification process. It’s really quite a comprehensive process,” he said.

Recent auction history: Hit or miss?

Rajasthan grabbed headlines in the previous IPL auction by breaking the bank for Chris Morris. The all-rounder, though, could manage just 15 wickets and 67 runs in 11 games. They even spent Rs 4.4 crore for Shivam Dube but the Mumbai all-rounder couldn’t create much of an impact.

Chetan Sakariya and Mustafizur Rahman at Rs 1.2 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively proved to be good buys for the Royals.

However, a big disappointment for Rajasthan was the ineffectiveness, and lack of availability, of three top England cricketers – Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer. These players could be included among the best in the world when it comes to white-ball cricket and most teams would want to have them, but Buttler played just seven matches last season, Stokes played one and Archer didn’t play any for a variety of reasons.

For a team that finished seventh, eighth and seventh respectively in the last three seasons, there aren’t many positives to write about. Their batting has let them down consistently but perhaps the biggest concern has been their bowling, especially at the death.

Rajasthan Royals have retained three quality batters but their bowling department is a clean slate. It could be an intimidating prospect but the opportunity to build something strong is undeniable too.

Any off-season changes since IPL 2021?

Rajasthan Royals parted ways with coach Andrew McDonald before IPL 2021 despite the Australian having a three-year contract. Back then, the Royals also signed Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara as their Director of Cricket.

Sangakkara continues to hold that position heading into the auctions this time around and one can expect him to have a big say in how the squad is built.

Zubin Bharucha (Performance Director), Trevor Penney (assistant coach), Amol Mazumdar (batting coach), Sairaj Bahutule (spin bowling coach), Rob Cassell (fast bowling coach) and Dishant Yagnik (fielding coach) make up for the rest of the coaching staff.

Who’s saying what

“This auction is really important because we know we could very well be preparing our base for the next five-six years. So, we’ve made sure to track everyone and give the opportunity to as many players as possible during the trials. Our goal is to now target the ones we think align with our vision, can embrace our values, and help our team get back to the top,” said Sanju Samson.