IPL 2020: Rajasthan Royals aim for consistency, stability

It is very hard to figure out the Rajasthan Royals. They were the inaugural champions in the 2008 IPL but since then, they have struggled to match up to those lofty heights. In 2018, they came back strongly and reached the knock-out stages but in the following year, they once again finished in the bottom, just above Royal Challengers Bangalore. This has been a problem that has plagued them ever since the beginning of the IPL. They perform well but struggle for consistency in big games. Their inconsistency has also plagued them immensely.

It was evident in 2019. Under Steve Smith’s captaincy, the team suffered a prolonged losing streak and belatedly, they decided to rope in Ajinkya Rahane as the captain. The decision was too late and their campaign was already done. The current Rajasthan Royals side has a good mixture of experience and youth. They have match-winners in both bat and ball, but how they come together and produce a spell or innings that helps them win the match will be eagerly watched upon in this edition of the IPL. For Rajasthan Royals, their main aim will be consistency and stability when it comes to the squad composition and captaincy.

Rajasthan Royals Full Squad

Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Steve Smith, Robin Uthappa, David Miller, Ankit Rajpoot, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Akash Singh, Oshane Thomas, Andrew Tye, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tewatia, Shashank Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anirudha Joshi, Tom Curran, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Anuj Rawat

Rajasthan Royals support staff

Andrew McDonald (Head coach), Amol Muzumdar (Batting coach), Rob Cassell (fast bowling coach), Sairaj Bahutule (spin bowling coach), Steffan Jones (Bowling consultant), John Gloster (physiotherapist), Ish Sodhi (Spin consultant and operations executive), Paddy Upton (Strength and conditioning coach)

Rajasthan Royals Indian player to watch out for

Yashasvi Jaiswal – There was tremendous excitement when Yashasvi Jaiswal was picked in the Rajasthan Royals side. The youngster is the youngest-ever to score a List A double century and his consistency at the youth level has been phenomenal. In the Under-19 World Cup, Jaiswal averaged over 100 and was phenomenal in his ball-striking ability. The youngster will definitely be one of the key players in the Rajasthan Royals team.

Rajasthan Royals overseas player to watch out for

Ben Stokes – He won the World Cup. Ensured England held Australia to a stalemate in the Ashes. In 2019, Ben Stokes reaffirmed himself as one of the greatest all-rounders in the modern era with a sparkling performance in both ODIs and Tests. In such a rich vein of form, Stokes will be the go-to man for Steve Smith if he wants a breakthrough or an X-factor innings. All eyes will be on how Stokes performs in the IPL and a great showing will only cement his legacy even further.

Rajasthan Royals past IPL record

2008: Champions

2009: 6th

2010: 7th

2011: 6th

2012: 7th

2013: 3rd

2014: 5th

2015: 4th

2016: Banned

2017: Banned

2018: 4th

2019: 7th