IPL 2022: Rajasthan Royals (RR) Best Playing 11, Strength and Weakness, Prediction

Strengths

With the presence of Buttler, Jaiswal and Samson, Royals top order was sorted. Then they added the likes of Devdutt Padikkal, Daryl Mitchell, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Karun Nair and Shimron Hetmyer to stack the options with balance of left and right hand combinations.

Their batting looks solid and their bowling seems sorted with the addition of India's top spin bowling options R Ashwin and Chahal. Also in the squad as tweakers are KC Cariappa and Tejas Baroka.

Pace bowling too seems to be top notch led by Krishna and Boult. While Krishna and Boult are expected to spearhead the bowling, one of Navdeep Saini, James Neesham and Nathan Coulter-Nile will be playing the supporting role.

The RR squad has even more depth in the pace bowling department with the likes of Obed McCoy, Kuldip Yadav and Kuldeep Sen also in the squad. So, with all areas covered, RR looks a promising side heading into the tournament.

Weakness

Not many weaknesses, but may arise if they fail to secure a string of wins. Also the worrisome factor of finishing off games may still haunt them. While batting seems stacked, finishing games has always been a worry for Royals, and this season too that may continue.

Apart from an in-form Hetmyer and to some extent James Neesham, Royals lack that one player who can consistently finish games and put an element of fear in the opposition. Buttler and Samson can also play that role, but if they are dismissed early, the pressure will be on the likes of Riyan Parag or R Ashwin and the other lower-order to take the team past the line.

Although it's pretty early to judge, Samson's captaincy may also be scrutinized if RR don't secure wins early in the season. He has delivered under-pressure most of the times, but the wicketkeeper-batter won only 5 of the 14 matches when he led Royals last season.

Rajasthan Royals IPL 2022 Squad

Batters: Devdutt Padikkal, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer (overseas), Rassie van der Dussen (overseas), Karun Nair

Wicketkeepers: Sanju Samson (captain), Jos Buttler (overseas), Dhruv Jurel

All-rounders: Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, James Neesham (overseas), Daryl Mitchell (overseas), Anunay Singh, Shubham Garhwal

Fast Bowlers: Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult (overseas), Navdeep Saini, Kuldip Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile (overseas), Kuldeep Sen, Obed McCoy (overseas)

Spinners: Yuzvendra Chahal, K.C. Cariappa, Tejas Baroka

Support Staff: Kumar Sangakkara (director of cricket), Trevor Penny (assistant coach), Zubin Barucha (development and performance director), Amol Mazumdar (batting coach), Sairaj Bahutule (spin bowling coach), Lasith Malinga (fast bowling coach), Dishant Yagnik (fielding coach), Steffan Jones (high-performance fast-bowling coach), Paddy Upton (team catalyst).

Rajasthan Royals IPL 2022 best playing 11

Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (captain/wicketkeeper), Shimron Hetmyer, James Neesham, Riyan Parag, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Prediction

A better finish than the last few seasons is on the cards. In fact, Royals have formed a good squad with a suitable back up in every position to be challenging for the top spots.

If their core stays fit and the batters are able to finish games, RR will definitely seal a play-off spot as their formidable bowling set-up is capable enough to to do the damage most of the time. If they click as a team, RR is also one of three teams that can reach the final with kind of team they have assembled this season.