Rajasthan Royals enjoyed Day 1 of the IPL 2022 auctions with some excellent buys, but did not do much on Day 2. Their bowling unit looks promising with the additions of R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, and Prasidh Krishna, while Devdutt Padikkal’s presence at the top will give them an option to use Jos Buttler as a finisher.
They spent INR 8.50 crores for Shimron Hetmyer, and later picked Rassie van der Dussen as cover. If they go with six batters and five bowlers, both van der Dussen and Hetmyer can be included in the lineup and make the batting unit formidable. With no genuine first-choice all-rounder, van der Dussen and Hetmyer can be the go-to pair in the middle overs.
Also read: IPL Auctions 2022: Mumbai Indians squad, strengths, weaknesses, likely starting XI
Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2022
Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Rassie van der Dussen, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, K.C. Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Kuldeep Sen, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Daryll Mitchell, R. Ashwin, Riyan Parag, Anunay Singh, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham.
Strengths
- A potent bowling attack that was missing in the past few editions. They did have Jofra Archer but with little support, but now, as a unit, they look promising.
- If they decide to play van der Dussen, Hetmyer, and Buttler at Nos. 4, 5, and 6, Rajasthan may have the strongest middle-order among all ten franchises.
Weaknesses
- No quality all-rounder. A Shakib Al Hasan in the mix would have been nice. That can also give them a left-arm spinner alongside an off-spinner (Ashwin) and a leg-spinner (Chahal).
- No death-over specialist. They do have Boult and Prasidh, but both have looked ordinary at times if attacked early.
Strongest possible XI for IPL 2022
Devdutt Padikkal, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Shimron Hetmyer, Jos Buttler, R. Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal,