IPL: Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-time greatest XI in league history

Rajasthan Royals were the winners of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They were captained and coached by the legendary Shane Warne and were the cheapest squad put forth in the IPL 2008. They were even fined by the IPL council for not spending the set amount of their purse to fill their required squad. Later they were captained by the likes of Rahul Dravid, Steven Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, and now Sanju Samson. RR have a reputation for punching above their limit and has relied mostly on local talent who were unknown names. They gave the likes of Sanju Samson, Pravin Tambe, Siddharth Trivedi, S Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, and many others a platform to showcase their skills and flourish. Here is the Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-time greatest XI in league history: 1. Shane Watson Shane Watson. (Photo Source: Twitter) Shane Watson was a huge addition to the RR family in the IPL 2008. He acted as the finisher and main bowler in the early few years of the franchise and was the Player of the Tournament in RR’s IPL 2008 victory. He also captained the side and led from the front. He played 84 matches for RR from 2008-2015 and made 2474 runs with two centuries and 14 fifties to his name. His highest score was 104* and his strike rate was 140.16. He has the most wickets for an RR bowler- 67 with a best of 3/10 and an economy of 7.55. He was also the first player to get Most Valuable Player in IPL, twice. Also check: RR Team 2024 Player List 2. Jos Buttler (WK) Jos Buttler. (Photo Source: Twitter) Jos Buttler has been Mr. RR since joining the side in 2018. He has flourished as an opener of the side and played a huge role in Rajasthan’s run to the final in IPL 2022. He hit more than 800 runs in the season with four centuries to his name. He has been instrumental in the franchise finding its feet as an elite side once again. In all, Buttler has played 72 matches for RR thus far and scored 2696 runs at a strike rate of 148.78 with an average of 42.12. His highest score is 124 and Buttler has hit 123 sixes and 269 fours for the RR side in the IPL. 3. Ajinkya Rahane Ajinkya Rahane. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL) Ajinkya Rahane came into the limelight when he was bought by Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2011 auction. Rahane became the deputy to Rahul Dravid, who took over as captain from Shane Warne and later went on to captain RR after Dravid’s retirement in 2013. He shouldered RR's batting for a long time before being released by the franchise. He had an impressive record for the RR franchise, scoring 3098 runs in 106 games for the team. He averaged 35.60 and had a strike rate of 122.30. He hit two centuries and 21 fifties in his RR career in IPL. Furthermore, Rahane hit 60 sixes and 329 boundaries. Also check: IPL 2024 RR Retained and Released Players List 4. Sanju Samson Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL) The current captain of the Rajasthan Royals, Sanju Samson was another brilliant talent scouted by the franchise. He had joined the RR franchise in 2013. He learned his trade under Shane Watson, Rahul Dravid, and Ajinkya Rahane, before joining forces with Jos Buttler and Steven Smith. He took over as captain once Smith was released after a couple of poor seasons. Since then, RR has made playoffs a couple of times, including a finals appearance in IPL 2022. Samson is the highest run-getter for RR, scoring 3403 runs in 130 matches at an average of 30.11 and strike rate of 138.72. He has hit two centuries with the highest being 119 and 20 fifties as well. 5. Ben Stokes Ben-Stokes. (Photo Source: Twitter) Ben Stokes played just three seasons for Rajasthan Royals but made quite an impact for the franchise. He was the most valuable player in IPL 2017 and hit a century as well in his first season. Overall, Stokes made 604 runs in 31 games for RR in IPL, with one century and one fifty. He also picked 15 wickets with a best of 3/15. But his impact was in his utility, both as a finisher and as an extra pacer in the side. Also check: IPL 2024 Rajasthan Royals (RR) SWOT Analysis 6. Yusuf Pathan Yusuf Pathan (Photo Source: Twitter) Yusuf Pathan was the main player for Rajasthan Royals when they won the IPL in 2008. Pathan was fresh off the 2007 T20 World Cup win for India and was given the freedom to take on the opposition. He also proved his worth as a brilliant spinner for RR. Pathan played 43 games for RR scoring 1011 runs with a strike rate of 161.24. He scored one century, an all-time classic IPL knock against Mumbai Indians in South Africa. He also picked 20 wickets with a best of 3/22. 7. Stuart Binny Stuart Binny proved to be a very useful cricketer for the Rajasthan Royals during his time in the Indian Premier League. He bowled medium pace but could swing the ball a long way. He was handy with the bat lower down the order and added crucial runs for his team. He made 812 runs in 78 games for RR with a strike rate of 132.67 and picked 18 wickets. Also check: IPL 2024: Strongest Playing XI for Rajasthan Royals (RR) 8. Shane Warne (C) Shane Warne. (Photo Source: Twitter) No Rajasthan Royals all-time great XI will be complete without Shane Warne in it. He was brought on board by RR on the promise of making him captain and he even took on the role of coaching. Despite a year after retiring from international cricket, Warne was still a huge name and he led the RR team well for three years. He picked 58 wickets in 56 games for RR with a best of 4/21 and an economy of 7.24. But it was his captaincy that was more valuable for RR management and laid a good platform for the future. 9. Munaf Patel Munaf-Patel. (Photo Source: Twitter) Munaf Patel is another member of the Rajasthan Royals franchise who played for the side from 2008-2010. He played 31 matches and picked up 33 wickets with a best of 3/17 with an economy of 7.55. His contribution was leading the pace attack which usually had inexperienced India pacers. Munaf Patel himself was a brilliant bowler with all variations in the book and was part of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning team. 10. Siddharth Trivedi Siddharth-Trivedi. (Photo Source: Twitter) One of the best young pacers from India that the Rajasthan Royals unearthed was Siddharth Trivedi. An unassuming pacer, Trivedi was very good with the new ball and was nippy off the pitch and could also swing the ball. This was enough for the batters to make a mistake. Trivedi played 76 games for RR from 2008-2013 and picked 65 wickets with a best of 4/25. His economy was 7.58 and Trivedi is considered to be one of the best talents and earned plenty of praise from Shane Warne, the former Royals' captain. 11. Shreyas Gopal Shreyas Gopal found his footing in the Indian Premier League for the Rajasthan Royals. He was the spinner that the franchise was looking for and for the 42 games, the Karnataka bowler excelled. Gopal played for RR from 2012-2021 and picked 41 wickets with a best of 4/16. He even took a hat-trick against Royal Challengers Bangalore, which included wickets of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

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IPL: Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-time greatest XI in league history

Rajasthan Royals (RR) All-Time Greatest XI in League History

4. Sanju Samson

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