Jos Buttler excited to play alongside Ben Stokes for Rajasthan Royals

After sealing star England all-rounder Ben Stokes in the opening round, Rajasthan Royals procured the services of another Englishman, Jos Buttler. Earlier in the first round, after an intense bidding war between Kolkata Night Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils for Ben Stokes, it was the Royals who emerged winners with a whopping Rs 12.5 crore bid.

And in an attempt to bolster their squad for the upcoming season, the franchise decided to add Buttler to provide batting depth to the squad. With the likes of Rahane, Sanju Samson, and Ben Stokes in their ranks, the 27-year-old joins an explosive line-up of batsmen and it will be interesting to see what kind of impact he makes at his latest IPL franchise.

Rajasthan bid hard for the England maverick, outdoing Mumbai Indians to get him for Rs 4.4 crore. After going down the hammer, the Three Lions wicketkeeper seemed extremely upbeat as he took to Twitter to express his excitement. He Tweeted, “Can’t wait to represent @rajasthanroyals in this years @IPL! Alongside @benstokes38 too!!!”

You can see the Tweet below

Can’t wait to represent @rajasthanroyals in this years @IPL! Alongside @benstokes38 too!!! https://t.co/1d5JXya50y

— Jos Buttler (@josbuttler) January 27, 2018

Royals spend big on the first day

Uncapped batsman Rahul Tripathi will be laughing his way to the bank now as he sold for a whopping amount of 3.4 crore to Rajasthan Royals. Tripathi had an excellent season last year with Rising Pune Supergiant, where his top score was 93 as well. Royals have got a good pool of talent on their team now.

Samson returns to Rajasthan after two seasons with Delhi Daredevils where he scored 941 runs in 44 matches with seven half-centuries. Samson ‘s stock as a wicketkeeper-batsman skyrocketed in the 2018 IPL auctions, with the returning Rajasthan Royals forking out Rs 8 crore for his services.

India all-rounder Stuart Binny also finds a team for himself as he is bought by Rajasthan for Rs 50 Lakh. RCB had the option to retain him but they chose not to. Royals have also invested heavily in the uncapped foreign players with Darcy Short (4 crore) and Jofra Archer (7.2 crore).