1. Purse available
The Rajasthan Royals have Rs 28.90 crore, the third largest purse behind Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders, and they need that purse to overhaul the side after releasing 11 players including captain Ajinkya Rahane, who was traded to Delhi Capitals.
2. Slots to be filled
The Royals have 11 places to be filled including 4 foreign players. They have just enough money to pursue some players vigorously but will be bargaining wisely as the next year's auction will see all the players going into the pool.
3. Players RR may buy, auction strategy
Steve Smith will lead Royals after they traded Rahane with Delhi Capitals. So, they might look for a good, solid bat and can zero in on Hanuma Vihari who was released by Delhi Capitals. Jalaj Saxena, Chris Morris, Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Pankaj Jaswal, David Miller, Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda and even Yusuf Pathan, the member in their title run in 2008, can come in for some discussion. An opener, middle-order bat and a pace bowler will be high on their list as they had also released Jaydev Unadkat after a vastly underwhelming two seasons with the Rajasthan outfit.
4. Team set up
Smith will lead the side and players like Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Varun Aaron, Shreyas Gopal will be the players Royals will expect to chip in with some heavy contributions.