IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals (RR) Strength, Weakness, Best Playing XI, Prediction

Bengaluru, April 1: Fortune hasn’t favoured inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Rajasthan Royals. Yet to land their second IPL trophy, the Royals endured a tough season last year as they finished at the bottom of the table.

Following their disappointing season, the Royals let go of their skipper Steve Smith and also made a record-buy at the action for the upcoming season. The Royals spent a whopping 16.25 crores to add Chris Morris to their ranks.

After enduring their worst season in the UAE, the Royals will hope to bounce back during the upcoming edition of the IPL, which is set to get underway from April 9. This year’s edition will be held behind closed doors and at neutral venues due to the pandemic.

Here’s a SWOT analysis of inaugural champions RR by mykhel.

Strength:

Even though the Royals let go of explosive batsman Steve Smith, the Rajasthan outfit boasts of a strong line-up. With match-winners like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler in their ranks, the Royals can be a force to reckon with. Following Smith’s departure, Sanju Samson has been named skipper of the Rajasthan franchise and Samson on any given day can give the bowlers a run for their money.

The strength of the Royals clearly lie in their batting line-up. Moreover, the franchise will hope big buy Chris Morris can bolster the bowling line-up.

Weaknesses:

The bowling line-up has been a concern for the Royals. Jofra Archer was the silver-lining for the Royals in the previous edition, but with the England bowler ruled out of the entire tournament due to injury the Royals will have their task cut out.

Most of the burden will fall on Morris. But as history has shown it, Morris is injury-prone, and that might put the Royals in a spot of trouble.

Full Squad:

Players Retained: Sanju Samson (captain), Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Mayank Markande, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Rahul Tewatia, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Jofra Archer, Andrew Tye, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, KC Cariappa, Chetan Sakariya, Chris Morris, Shivam Dube, Mustafizur Rahman, Liam Livinsgtone, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh

Best XI:

Sanju Samson (C), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Chris Morris, Liam Livingstone, Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Riyan Parag, Jaydev Unadkat, Manan Vohra

Prediction:

Though the Royals bolstered their squad during the auction, the path to the playoffs for the upcoming season will not be an easy one. While the batsmen can terrorise any team, the bowlers might falter to defend the total and that might be a hindrance in the Royals chances of making it to the playoffs.