Rajasthan Royals Head of Cricket Zubin Bharucha explains the reasons behind opting for Robin Uthappa and Jaydev Unadkat

The 2020 Indian Premier League Auctions are in full swing in Kolkata with the eight franchises going hammer and tongs in raging bidding wars to claim the services of the cricketers from around the world. From the likes of Pat Cummins, Shimron Hetmayer, Glenn Maxwell becoming millionaires to Dale Steyn, Mustafizur Rahman, Marcus Stoinis, Mushfiqur Rahim going unsold, it has been a day of contrasting fortunes.

Rajasthan Royals made an interesting move when they decided to opt for the services of former Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Robin Uthappa. Uthappa was released from the KKR set-up after the right-hander endured a horrendous 2019 season. The former Indian opener did not have fruitful outings in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament and it really turned heads when the Royals opted to lock in Uthappa.

However, Zubin Bharucha- Head of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals reckoned that Robin has always been on their radar, and the franchise is looking forward to having a guy with such a rich vein of experience in their set-up.

Bharucha said, “He has always been on our radar ever since he joined KKR, and has performed exceedingly well for them over the past six seasons. He has been a part of their title-winning seasons, and we look forward to him bringing his experience to our team. He is a fantastic batsman, and can keep wickets also, therefore he is quite a utility player when it comes to the IPL. We look forward to him being a crucial part of the Rajasthan Royals’ set-up, and we want to make sure he is up to speed and settles into the team so that he can be a part of the first XI. We are quite pleased to have him in our side, and would like to welcome him to the Royals’ family.”

Unadkat’s tryst with Rajasthan Royals continues

Another interesting move made by the Royals at the Auction was when they decided to regain the services of Jaydev Unadkat. Unadkat, who racked up a whopping Rs 11.5 crore and Rs 8.5 crore in the past two seasons, was regained by the Royals at a bargain margin of Rs 3 Crore.

Zubin Bharucha reckoned that the reasoning behind regaining Udakat was that he was the only experienced Indian bowler in the auction list.

“We are really pleased to have Jaydev back in our squad for the upcoming season. We could not retain him, and had planned to get him back, and I’m really happy to once again have him in the team. He was the only experienced Indian pacer available at the Auction, and after a tough bidding battle, we managed to get him. His performances during the latter stages of the IPL last season were brilliant as he helped us win matches, including a man of the match performance against Sunrisers, and he had been working with us on various aspects of his game during the off-season. He knows the franchise inside-out, therefore we are really looking forward to have him help our team again.” Bharucha explained.