Rajasthan IPL 2023 hopes will be to end the long wait for a trophy. The Royals were the inaugural champions but reached the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs only four times since. After the runner-up finish last season, the Royals faithful will have high expectations from the Rajasthan Royals team in the 2023 season.
Rajasthan Royals IPL 2023 Players
The Royals fans will be pinning their hopes on Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson in the 16th edition. Buttler, who has also played for Mumbai Indians, won the Orange Cap after scoring 863 runs at a strike rate of 149. He struck four centuries and as many fifties in IPL 2022. Samson, meanwhile, provided excellent support to his opening batter. The Royals skipper amassed 458 runs in the last season.
Shimron Hetmyer and Devdutt Padikkal – featured in the retained player list – are the two other batters who had a good outing in IPL 2022. Both players scored over 300 runs and could play a pivotal role in the upcoming season. It would be interesting to see how the franchise will use Joe Root, who hasn’t made an IPL appearance yet. The former England captain has a stellar record in India in red-ball cricket.
The inaugural IPL champions retained the core of their bowling attack from last season. The trio of Boult, Obed McCoy, and Prasidh Krishna are the key fast bowlers on their roster. They claimed 46 wickets between them in the IPL 2022 edition. Domestic pacers Kuldeep Sen and Navdeep Saini will be keen to find a place in the playing 11, which could see all-rounder Jason Holder playing a significant role.
The spin department consists of three-world class players. Yuzvendra Chahal was the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2022, while Ravichandran Ashwin and Adam Zampa are the frontline spinners of their respective national teams in Test and white-ball cricket. Uncapped Murugan Ashwin, bought at his base price in the IPL 2023 auction held in December 2022, is a quality backup option.
Rajasthan Royals Squad IPL 2023
Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jason Holder, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Adam Zampa, Ravichandran Ashwin, Joe Root, Prasidh Krishna, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Murugan Ashwin, K C Cariappa, K M Asif, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Dhruv Jurel, Devdutt Padikkal, Akash Vashisht, Abdul P A
Captain of RR
Sanju Samson has been in the hot seat for the Royals since the 2021 season. Though the Jaipur-based franchise finished seventh in his first season as captain, Samson guided them to the final in IPL 2022. He hasn’t let the captaincy affect his batting, as the Keralite went past the 400-mark in the last two seasons.
Shane Warne, Shane Watson, and Ajinkya Rahane are some of the ex-skippers of the Royals.
Sanju Samson IPL Captaincy Record
Matches: 31, Won: 15, Lost: 16
Head Coach
The Royals’ head coach is Kumar Sangakkara. The Sri Lankan, also their director of cricket, gave the captain’s armband to Sanju Samson and played a crucial role in reversing the franchise’s fortunes after a disappointing 2021 season. Legendary Sri Lankan cricketer Lasith Malinga is the franchise’s bowling coach.
Rajasthan Royals IPL 2023 Schedule
The Royals will want to resume from where they left off last season. In their tournament opener, the Royals crushed Sunrisers Hyderabad by 61 runs in Pune. They won six of their first eight matches and finished second in the points table.
Rajasthan Royals IPL 2023 Venues
Sawai Mansingh Stadium and Barsapara Cricket Stadium will host the Royals’ home matches in the IPL 2023 season. Both grounds haven’t hosted an IPL match ever since COVID-19 broke out. The Royals managed to pick up only three wins at their home ground in the 2019 season.
India beat New Zealand by five wickets in the lone T20I played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in 2021. Ravichandran Ashwin took 2/23 in his four overs. Meanwhile, Guwahati’s Barsapara Cricket Stadium hosted a high-scoring thriller between India and South Africa in October 2022.
Rajasthan Royals are among the teams to watch for in the IPL 2023 season. The attacking-minded batting unit and a well-experienced bowling attack make them a candidate to win the 16th edition.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times Rajasthan Royals won IPL?
Rajasthan Royals has won the IPL once. In the IPL inaugural edition, the Shane Warne-led side beat Chennai Super Kings in the final.
How many centuries Sanju Samson scored in IPL?
Sanju Samson has scored three centuries in IPL. 102 vs Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, 102* vs Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019, and 119* vs Punjab Kings in 2021.
How many wickets and runs Jason Holder scored in IPL?
Jason Holder has scored 247 runs and taken 49 wickets in IPL.
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