IPL 2021: Best Playing XI of Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals went into the IPL Auctions to get a couple of match-winners in their squad. After releasing their captain, Steve Smith, along with other players, Rajasthan had a purse of 37.85 crore with which they could get a few players and back-ups. With most of the squad fixed, the Royals needed just a couple of changes in their team.

With bowling being their weak point last season, despite Jofra Archer’s brilliant stint, the royals mainly focused on that category. Eventually, they ended up taking Chris Morris the most expensive player in the history of IPL Auctions. They got the South African for 16.25 crore.

Along with Chris Morris, Rajasthan Royals got Mustafizur Rahman (1 crore), Shivam Dube (4.3 crore), KC Cariappa (20 lakh), Chetan Sakariya (1.2 crore), Akash Singh (20 lakh), and Liam Livingstone (75 lakhs). Keeping that in mind, let’s take a look at their best player.

IPL 2021: Best Playing XI of Rajasthan Royals

1. Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes arguably is the most complete all rounder in World Cricket. He had a lot of success batting at the top end of the Royals’ batting order at the back end of last season and there is no reason why he shouldn’t continue playing there in the forthcoming season. Last season, he also scored a century after opening the innings against Mumbai Indians.

Ben Stokes joined the team in the middle and was sent straight to open the innings. He struggled to get used to the opening slot at first, however, it did not take him a lot of time to get to his godly touch. After a rather slow start, he scored a century in a must-win game and followed it up with a quick half century.

Despite a slow start to the season, Ben Stokes managed to score 280 runs as an opener in 8 innings. Ben Stokes would look to take the IPL 2020 form into IPL 2021 and hope to lift the IPL trophy. His hard-hitting abilities upfront are exactly what the Royals need in power play.

2. Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler has been one of the most explosive batsmen in world cricket over the last decade. He has been a consistent performer for the Royals’ since his arrival in 2018. The English Dynamo would once again be relied upon heavily by the Rajasthan Management to set the tone in the early stages of the innings.

In IPL 2020, Jos Buttler scored 328 runs at a strike rate of 144. There is absolutely no doubt about what Jos Buttler offers to the team he plays for. When he gets going, it takes a lot to stop him.

Jos Buttler could be the key to the Royals reaching the playoffs and winning the tournament. What Jofra Archer offers with the ball to the team, Jos Buttler offers with the bat. He will be vital at the top for the Rajasthan Royals and he will look to help his team lift the IPL trophy.

3. Sanju Samson

Rajasthan Royals have been nurturing Sanju Samson since 2013, so much so that he is now the captain of the Rajasthan Royals. Over the years, Sanju Samson has been consistently performing well for the 1-time IPL winners. Sanju Samson can take the game away in an instance with his clean hitting and masterful stroke making.

In IPL 2020, Sanju Samson scored 375 runs at a strike rate of 158. He was also responsible for chasing a mammoth total of 223 against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and 195 against the Mumbai Indians. He fits in perfectly at #3 for the Rajasthan Royals.

In his entire IPL career, Sanju Samson has scored over 2500 runs with an average of 27 and a strike rate of 133. He has also scored 2 centuries in the Indian Premier League.

4. Riyan Parag

Riyan Parag is one for the future and that is how Rajasthan Royals have kept him. Despite not having a breakout season yet, Rajasthan will look to persist with him throughout the tournament. They would try to nurture him just like they did with Sanju Samson and hope for him to be fruitful to them in the coming seasons.

Riyan Parag has played 13 innings in the IPL and has scored 250 runs at an average of 20. The numbers do not look staggering, but the temperament which he has shown in the previous seasons ensures that he will be the one to look out for. He was a part of the U19 world cup winning squad in 2018 which took place in New Zealand.

We got a glimpse of what he is capable of when he scored 42 runs off just 26 balls against one of the best bowling attacks of the tournament, Sunrisers Hyderabad. Rajasthan won the game out of nowhere, thanks to the powerful batting of the youngster. He will look to make a valuable impact in the IPL 2021.

5. Shivam Dube

Shivam Dube has been an excellent buy for the Rajasthan Royals. Everyone is well aware of the all-rounding capabilities which he possesses. With Jofra Archer and Chris Morris being his bowling partners, he will bowl much more freely.

Shivam Dube represented Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2020 and was decent for the team. With Rajasthan Royals buying him for just 4.4 crore, he is termed as one of the bargains of the tournament. Last season he took 4 wickets and scored over 150 runs, and this season, he will look to improve it.

Having a hard-hitting Indian player in the middle order is always going to give Rajasthan various options to tinker with, rather than simply following a rigid line-up because of limited squad. After an excellent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the next target for the Mumbaikar will be to prove his abilities in the Indian Premier League. With the kind of talent he has, don’t be surprised if he becomes the emerging player of the season.

6. Rahul Tewatia

One of the biggest surprises of the previous campaign, Rahul Tewatia, had a fantastic 2020 edition. His knock of 53(31) against KXIP altered his career forever. So much so that Rahul will begin the 2021 season as One of the Most Important players for the Royals.

The Haryana born Royal scored 255 runs for the Rajasthan Based outfit at a phenomenal average of 42.5 and a strike rate of 139. Tewatia also had a sensational season with the bowl picking up 10 wickets with a fantastic economy rate of 7.08 RPO. Tewatia proved his worth both with bat and bowl on a consistent basis.

The Ex-DC man will be hoping to replicate his success from the last edition. Surely another big season will have him hovering around the national t20 squad? We shall wait and see.

7. Chris Morris

Chris Morris was the Biggest Buy of the 2021 Auctions at 16.25cr, which also makes him the Most Expensive purchase in the history of IPL. The Ex-RCB man saw interest from as many as four IPL franchises before the Royals acquired his services. Morris Comes into the 2021 season with a lot of expectations behind him due to the finances involved.

The big fee has a reason behind it as the South African has been a consistent performer in the IPL throughout his career both with the bat and the bowl. The South African international has scored over 550 runs at a fantastic strike rate of 158. He has also been a reliable performer with the bowl picking up 80 wickets at a decent economy of 7.8 RPO.

The Royals would be expecting Morris to score quick runs at the back of their innings like he did for other teams so many times in his career. He will also be depended upon to Bowl the crucial death overs for the Royals. It will be interesting to see how the Big money signing fares in his second stint in Rajasthan.

8. Shreyas Gopal

The leg spinner from Karnataka will be the leader of the spin attack for the Royals. He has been a consistent performer with the ball over the last few years and has also come in extremely handy with the bat, down the order. He adds to the much-needed batting depth, thus making the batting line-up stronger.

He got into the limelight after taking a hat trick against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. What made it more special were the scalps; Virat Kohli, Ab De Villiers, and Marcus Stoinis. When you get these players out on consecutive deliveries, you ought to make the news.

IPL 2020 was good for Shreyas Gopal as he took 10 wickets for the team. On top of that, he bowled a lot of overs in the powerplay and kept it tight. He will definitely try to make his IPL 2021 performance better than his previous seasons’ performance.

9. Jofra Archer

Jofra Archer is undoubtedly one of the most feared bowlers in World Cricket at the moment. The Englishman has been nothing short of World Class for the Royals over the last 3 years. Archer also had an outstanding 2020 IPL edition winning the MVP award.

Archer has picked up 46 wickets in just 35 matches with an outstanding Economy of 7.1 RPO. IPL 2020 was by far his best season picking up 20 wickets in 14 games with a career best Economy of 6.55. Jofra is also a more than capable batter with the ability of finishing the innings for his side with a lot of Power hitting.

Sanju Samson will be relying on the Englishman to spearhead his attack once again in the upcoming season. With the Addition of Chris Morris it should make Jofra’s job much easier as well. It won’t come as a surprise to anybody if Jofra captures the MVP award for the second season in a row.

10. Kartik Tyagi

Kartik Tyagi is a domestic fast bowler who has been absolutely wonderful in the domestic circuit and U19 cricket for India. Tyagi first came into the limelight when he took 11 wickets in just 6 matches in the 2020 U19 World Cup. He also took 4 wickets against Australia in the quarter finals of the tournament and won the Man of the Match award for his exceptional bowling.

IPL 2020 was not a breakout season for him yet, but he did perform decently. He made his debut against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020 and got a wicket in his first over in IPL. In the tournament, he took 9 wickets in 10 games which was fairly decent considering his first outing.

As a bowling unit, Rajasthan Royals were not as sharp in the IPL 2020 and Tyagi could not bowl as freely as he would like. However, with Chris Morris being the new addition to the Royals’ bowling line up, Kartik Tyagi would look to have an impactful season. The raw pace of the youngster is likely to bring him success now that there’s comparatively less pressure on him.

11. Mayank Markande

Mayank Markande is likely to be the second spinner for the Rajasthan Royals. In IPL 2020, Mayank Markande found himself on the bench the entire season. The reason for this was the lack of fast bowling options in the team.

However, with Chris Morris, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, and Kartik Tyagi taking up the fast bowling department, Markande is likely to make his debut for the Royals. The leggie from Punjab will be hoping to repeat the kind of season he had with the Mumbai Indians when he took 15 wickets in the season in 14 matches.

Another scale tipping in the favour of the Punjabi is the excellent outing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He took 5 wickets in the tournament, at an economy rate of just 5.7. His ability to make the batsmen work hard for their runs will come in handy for the Royals in the middle overs.