Rajasthan Royals exhausted INR 79 crore while retaining six players and went with only INR 41 crore in the auction.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) were among two teams to retain as many as six players before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction. RR exhausted INR 79 crore while retaining six players and went with only INR 41 crore in the auction.
They did a decent job acquiring a few quality players, including Jofra Archer, their most expensive buy at INR 12.50 crore. The focus was on getting quality pacers. They did so by getting the likes of Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Yudhvir Singh Charak, and Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Overall, the squad looks decent, but RR will rely heavily on the main XI to do the job; they lack quality backups, especially in the batting department. They should have been wise by not retaining as many as six players, but they went with a small budget and had to settle with decent-quality or inexperienced options.
Ideally, Dhruv Jurel should bat in the top four, but that looks tough in this setup. Hence, the idea should be to slot him as high as possible and the best spot will be No.5. Shimron Hetmyer is another option for this position, but Jurel should bat ahead of him.
Jurel is a better spin player than Hetmyer, who has an average of 14.33 and a strike rate of 111.68 vs spinners in IPL since 2023. He has 188 runs at an average of 31.33 and a strike rate of 146.87 in eight innings, including two fifties. The No.5. batters often face reasonable balls against slow bowlers at this batting position.
Jurel has the game to manoeuvre fields or hit boundaries against tweakers, possessing a better tempo than Hetmyer. Further, Hetmyer specialises in pace hitting and should bat at No.6, where he will face fast bowlers. Since 2023, he has had a strike rate of 172.48 and a balls-per-boundary ratio of 4.39 vs pacers, suggesting he is better suited in the lower order.
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Shockingly, Rajasthan Royals don’t have pace-bowling all-rounders in their squad. Despite knowing the value of all-rounders, they didn’t buy any good or decent-quality player in this category. The only all-rounder in their team is the spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, even his batting expertise at this level is uncertain.
Hence, the squad looks massively unbalanced, with overreliance on specialists in each department. They will also be the most dependent team on the impact player rule to get an additional player. But the thought process behind not having even a single all-rounder is arduous to understand.
The only solace is genuine options in both batting and bowling departments. Even then, the lack of all-rounders and their value is palpable. Now they must rely on bits and pieces options in both innings to cover their shortcomings.
Rajasthan Royals bought two quality Indian speedsters, Yudhvir Singh Charak and Akash Madhwal. Both have different skill sets, but Madhwal might fit more in the first XI. Yudhvir is a hit-the-deck bowler and will be perfectly suited for the middle overs, but RR might still prefer Akash for his skiddy bowling.
Akash doesn’t hit the deck but can skid the ball, which is a crucial weapon. He pitches the ball up and can move the new and old ball. The tracks in Jaipur can be low and slow. Madhwal can bring some reverse swing with a slightly old ball.
There’s a scope to use him in the powerplay, given Jofra Archer’s recent issues with control. When he had a fine IPL 2023, Madhwal showed good control over his yorkers. That means he can also bowl well in death overs, so RR should prefer him over Yudhvir, at least in the first half of IPL 2025.
Since Rajasthan Royals don’t have genuine all-rounders, the lack of batting depth is palpable in the lower order. They will need a big hitter who can provide impetus in death overs and RR can slot Shubham Dubey for that role. Dubey has been doing this role for his domestic side and has shown a few glimpses in the IPL.
A left-handed batter Dubey has a 152.69 strike rate in his T20 career and knows how to hit pacers. If there’s any team where his best can come, it’s RR. Their team construction is flawed, but this opens an opportunity for Dubey.
RR want another batter before Wanindu Hasaranga in the batting order and Dubey specialises in finishing the innings. He can take on pacers, especially on anything slightly fuller. There’s no better option than Shubham for this role in the RR side.
Rajasthan Royals should ideally go with only three overseas players in the XI if they are batting first. They have Maheesh Theekshana as an overseas option who can come in on slow and low decks, while one of Fazalhaq Farooqi or Kwena Maphaka is an option on flat decks. Theekshana hasn’t been among the wickets in the IPL but bowled economically.
Hence, he will fit perfectly with his Sri Lanka teammate Wanindu Hasaranga, a wicket-taker. But if the surface doesn’t have enough for spinners and Theekshana’s role will be to play as a matchup bowler, RR can look to bring in someone else. They already have Nitish Rana and Riyan Parag as off-spinners who can bowl well against favourable matchups.
RR have Kumar Kartikeya, who will bring variety to the spin attack with his left-arm angle. Theekshana has been vulnerable against RHBs in IPL lately and can concede plenty on flat surfaces. RR’s motive behind his acquisition might be to play him in home games and Chennai, where spinners get more grip off the deck.
Yudhvir Singh Charak might not get consistent chances due to Akash Madhwal’s availability, but he is an option to be used as an impact player. He is a lanky hit-the-deck bowler who can bowl at a high pace and cramp batters with his hard lengths. That makes him an ideal option for the middle-overs.
Jofra Archer can be injury-prone and the door will open for Yudhvir if he is unfit. If Archer is unavailable, Akash Madhwal will share the new ball with Tushar Deshpande and Yudhvir will bowl in the middle overs. Yudhvir generates additional bounce and hits higher on the bat.
Another option for a similar role is Ashok Sharma, who can also crank it up and agitate batters with his heavy ball. However, he is still raw, and RR might prefer Yudhvir over him if needed. He has previous experience playing in the league for Lucknow Super Giants.
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