A look at players retained and released by the inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2023 mini auctions.
Rajasthan Royals had an excellent run at the IPL 2022, wherein they finished second in the league stage with nine wins from 14 matches, and finished runners-up in the competition after a defeat to Gujarat Titans in the final. It was their first final appearance since the inaugural edition in 2008, wherein they had won the title under Shane Warne.
RR’s march to the final last year was led by Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal’s brilliance in their respective disciplines, with the duo bagging the Orange and Purple cap respectively. Skipper Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer added explosiveness on the batting front, while they boasted an able leader of the pace unit in Trent Boult.
RR have released as many as nine players, including five overseas from their 2022 squad, which has left them with and INR 13.2 crores remaining going into the mini-auction. Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Karun Nair, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Rassie van der Dussen were the notable players released.
Anunay Singh, Corbin Bosch, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Karun Nair, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Shubham Garhwal, Tejas Baroka
Sanju Samson (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa
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Sanju Samson (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa
Purse remaining: INR 13.2 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Kumar Sangakkara, Head coach
Trevor Penney, Assistant coach
Lasith Malinga, Fast bowling coach
Steffan Jones, High-performance fast bowling coach
Dishant Yagnik, Fielding coach
Paddy Upton, Team catalyst
Five of the nine players released by the Royals are overseas. They still have a solid batting core, with skipper Sanju Samson, Jos Butttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag, while the experience of Trent Boult, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal puts them in fine stead.
RR would be keen on getting a finisher in their line-up to accompany Shimron Hetmyer, having let go Jimmy Neesham. They’ll also keep a close eye on young Indian performers from Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022 and other domestic competitions to add further depth to their Indian setup. Rassie van der Dussen and Daryl Mitchell were surprise omissions too, which would mean an addition of at least one international middle-order batter in the mini-auction.
