2013 Champions League T20 team preview: Rajasthan Royals

Rahul Dravid: Can the Royals Skipper inspire his team to win the CLT20?

Rajasthan Royals, the winners of inaugural edition of IPL, has qualified for the Champions League T20 for the first time. They qualified in 2008 but the tournament was cancelled due to Mumbai terror attacks so, this time they would hope that the tournament will go on as per the schedule.

As always they go into the 2013 CLT20 as underdogs. The Rahul Dravid led side has the likes of Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, James Faulkner and Sanju Samson in their ranks. They qualified for the tournament courtesy their third place finish in 2013 edition of the IPL. Every single player contributed towards the team’s success despite the spot-fixing scandal that hit the IPL and the Royals at the business end of the tournament. This is the last time that the fans will see Rahul Dravid playing for the Royals and the team from Jaipur would be looking to give him a fitting farewell.

Here is a complete analysis on Rajasthan Royals’ chances in the 2013 CLT20.

Squad:

Captain: Rahul Dravid

Coach: Paddy Upton

Batsmen: Rahul Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Menaria, Brad Hodge

All Rounders: Stuart Binny, Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper

Bowlers: Vikramjeet Malik, Rahul Shukla, Pravin Tambe, Siddharth Trivedi, Shaun Tait

Wicket Keeper: Sanju Samson, Dishant Yagnik

Strengths:

Right mix of youth and experience
Presence of some good death bowlers
Solid openers in Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane
Perfect balance in their squad
Playing all their matches at the Sawai Man Singh stadium, Jaipur which is considered as the “Royal Fortress”.

Weakness:

Local bowlers are a concern for the Royals
Tendency to choke at big occasions
Absence of quality spinners in their ranks
Rahul Dravid is back to the field after 5 months so, he might be short of match practice.

X-Factor: Brad Hodge

He is considered as the most underrated batsman Australia had ever produced. Brad Hodge, one of the senior-most batsmen in the T20 circuit for years, has been the trump card for Rajasthan Royals batting line up in the IPL. Usually Hodge is a top order batsman but is used as a floater in the Royals line-up. He bats in the middle order for the Royals and binds their innings together.

In situations such as a huge chase, Hodge is often used as a finisher and has been successful essaying that role in the IPL. He is a complete batsman who bats sensibly according to the situation and can easily raise the scoring rate when needed. He follows the principle – “T20 is not about traditional slogging, but about cultured slogging”. It is a real blessing for Royals for having such a gifted batsman in their batting ranks. His form would remain as a crucial factor for Royals in the CLT20.