3 holes RR might struggle to fill at the IPL 2025 auction ft. a quality fast-bowling all-rounder
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) qualified for the playoffs in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), but it wasn't a satisfactory campaign. Sanju Samson and his men lost their form in the second half of the season and struggled to even make the knockout stages.
Nevertheless, the Royals have an enviable core to build around and opted to use all six of their retention slots ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. Under new head coach Rahul Dravid, the inaugural IPL champions have retained captain Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer and Sandeep Sharma.
While keeping hold of the core of the team is an obvious positive, Rajasthan now has only ₹41 crore to spend at the auction. They also don't have any RTM cards, meaning that it'll be a real challenge to assemble the rest of their squad.
On that note, here are three holes RR might struggle to fill at the IPL 2025 auction.
#3 RR might once again struggle to find a quality fast-bowling all-rounder
Over the last auction cycle, RR hasn't had a reliable fast-bowling all-rounder. They have experimented with the likes of Jason Holder, but bridging the gap between the batting and bowling departments hasn't been easy. The Royals have often had to sacrifice batting depth to play an additional bowler, and at other times, they have gone in with only five specialist bowlers.
RR should ideally look to buck that trend and get a reliable fast-bowling all-rounder who can add balance to the side. But Sam Curran, Marco Jansen and similar player profiles won't come cheap. And on Rajasthan's budget, acquiring quality players in that department will be a serious challenge.
#2 Can Rajasthan buy quality wrist-spinners with their budget?
Fast-bowling all-rounders are not the only hot properties at an IPL auction. Wrist-spinners who can take wickets regularly and bowl at various stages of the innings will be in high demand as well.
The Jaipur venue doesn't offer much turn, and its low bounce and fast outfields mean that the spinners need to be of the highest pedigree. Signing bowlers of that quality will be easier said than done for RR, who need to construct their entire bowling attack and fill batting slots with the limited money they possess.
Yuzvendra Chahal has served the franchise well over the last three years, but he will be one of the most sought-after bowlers at the IPL 2025 auction. And with a few teams retaining their world-class wrist-spinners, other options may not be good enough for the Royals.
#1 The Royals need a complete revamp of their pace attack
Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Sen, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Kuldip Yadav, and Nandre Burger — RR have had plenty of quality in their pace attack over the last three years. However, whether they will be able to supplement Sandeep with a similarly strong pace attack in IPL 2025 is a valid question.
The likes of Avesh, Prasidh and Boult will be in high demand at the auction, with almost all the franchises needing quality fast bowlers who can handle all phases. Spending large amounts of money on pacers is a foregone conclusion for most teams, which isn't something RR can afford.
Rajasthan might need to rely on lesser-known names and look to develop them into reliable fast bowlers.