Rajasthan royals

By the time 2013 came, they were struggling on and off the field. Midway through the 2013 season, three RR players —Ajit Chandila, S Sreesanth, and Ankeet Chavan — were arrested by the police for an alleged spot-fixing scandal, and the whole affair put the franchise’s future in jeopardy.

Following this scandal, the franchise received a ban from playing in the IPL for two years. In 2018, the team returned under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane and finished fourth. The franchise had the likes of Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat, for whom they had broken the bank.

In 2019, Steve Smith returned to the IPL after a one-year ban for his involvement in the Sandpapergate scandal. He had to lead the side midway through the season after the Rahane-led team struggled in the first half. However, the captaincy switch didn’t change the fortunes, as they finished seventh. 

A new era began in 2021, with Sanju Samson being named captain. He formed a solid partnership with Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara, and the team reached the finals in 2022.

RR has created a core of group players like Sanju, Jos Buttler, and Yuzvendra Chahal. The franchise retained these key players alongside youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, etc., before the 2023 edition. 

However, the management applied the trial-and-error method to create this core. Some of the franchise’s failed experiments include Unadkat, Stokes, and Chris Morris, for whom they splashed a lot of money. 

The Royals, who finished outside the top four in 2023, were knocked out in the Qualifier 2 by eventual runner-up Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2024 edition.