Rajasthan Royals were the first team to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008. Since then, the coveted title has been eluding them despite playoffs four times in 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2022. Under the leadership of late Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals were considered a formidable team but failed to carry on their initial success.
In IPL 2023, under the captaincy of Sanju Samson, Rajasthan Royals made it to the final for the first time since 2008 but lost to debutant Gujarat Titans. In the last season, RR fell short of a playoff spot by just two points after finishing fifth with 14 points in the league stage of the tournament.
Sanju Samson-led side will look to regain their glory by winning the coveted trophy after more than 15 years in IPL 2024.
How Rajasthan Royals performed at the IPL 2024 Auction?
Rajasthan Royals performed well at the IPL 2024 Auction in Dubai in December. The franchise spent a combined 13.20 crore on Rovman Powell (7.4 crore) and Shubham Dubey (5.8 crore) at the auction. Acquiring the services of Powell and Dubey strengthened their bench ahead of IPL 2024.
Jaipur-based franchise also brought Nadre Burger, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Abid Mustaq at the IPL 2024 auction. A total of 14.3 crore went spent on five players by Rajasthan Royals ahead of IPL 2024.
Ahead of IPL 2024 Auction, Rajasthan Royals engaged in a trade deal with Lucknow Super Giants. In an exchange of talent, RR parted way with Devdutt Paidkkal in exchange for the pacer Avesh Khan. Avesh joined Rajasthan Royals for INR 10 crore.
Double blow for Rajasthan Royals
Ahead of IPL 2024, Rajasthan Royals suffered double blow as they will miss the services of Prasidh Krishna and Adam Zampa as the two have been ruled out of the tournament.
Krishna suffered a quadriceps injury and underwent surgery for the same. In an official statement by BCCI, the 28-year-old pacer was under the observation of the medical team and will resume rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) soon. Thus, Prasidh Krishna won't play IPL 2024. He also missed the entire IPL 2023 due to injury.
Adam Zampa, on the other hand, pulled out of the upcoming IPL season due to personal reasons. He has been on the road since Australia's ODI World Cup triumph last year, participating in BBL, Australia's white-ball series against India, West Indies and New Zealand.
Will Krishna and Zampa's affect RR's team combination?
Prasidh Krishna and Adam Zampa were crucial players for Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2024 but their absence won't have an impact on the team's combination.
RR have two best spinners in the squad, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin. Both are lethal spin bowlers and can turn the game around. Chahal and Ashwin are among the top wicket-takers in the history of IPL, with the former leading the chart with 187 wickets.
Rajasthan Royals have three options for death bowling in Trent Boult, Avesh Khan and Sandeep Sharma. Boult is a reliable death bowler for RR but Avesh and Sandeep haven't been consistent at the death. The either of two need to step up in the death overs to release the burden on Trent Boult.
