Rajasthan Royals made a few costly mistakes while reconstructing their side for the IPL 2025.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) witnessed their best period in the previous auction cycle since winning the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) edition in 2008. They were the runners-up in the IPL 2022 and reached the playoffs in the 2024 season.
Rajasthan Royals had built a formidable side over the last few years but had to start over due to the mega auction. Ahead of the auction, they retained their core with five Indian players and one overseas batter.
Despite having Rahul Dravid back as the head coach, Rajasthan Royals made a few potentially costly mistakes while reconstructing their side for the upcoming season.
Rajasthan Royals had a seven-year highly successful association with Jos Buttler. In this period, the Englishman was the best opening batter in the IPL, with 3,055 runs at an average of 41.8 and a strike rate of 147.8. He had been the best batter for the Royals too during this time. But to secure the future stars, they opted against retaining him.
At the mega auction, they tried to buy him back, engaging in a bidding war with Gujarat Titans. Rajasthan Royals were ready to chip in with INR 9.25 crore before giving up.
If not getting Buttler back wasn’t a big enough blunder, RR also failed to get an alternative overseas opener. As a result, they will have to pair Yashasvi Jaiswal with an inexperienced or inconsistent option.
The Royals made an important call to back their young Indian players, who can go on to play for them in years to come. They retained Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, and Sandeep Sharma along with Shimron Hetmyer.
However, spending INR 14 crore to acquire Jurel turned out to be a topic of debate. The 24-year-old has played two full seasons for RR, scoring 347 runs at a strike rate of 151 while averaging just 23. They looked at the potential and his age to make this decision but perhaps the price tag is just too high.
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It was quite surprising to see Rajasthan Royals not secure any overseas batter in the IPL 2025 auction. They bought three overseas seamers and two spinners, filling six of the allocated eight spots.
Shimron Hetmyer has had fitness issues in the past. If he gets injured for a few games, they will find themselves in a disastrous position. The Royals have two vacant batting spots, which are likely to be filled by Nitish Rana and a domestic youngster.
On paper, it doesn’t seem to be an intimidating line-up. If one of them gets sidelined, they would have to rely on inexperienced domestic batters.
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