3 RR players who are on overpriced contracts for IPL 2023
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) are fresh off one of their best-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) campaigns. Last year, the Royals finished in the top two and reached the final, where they lost to the Gujarat Titans.
Key players like Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer and Yuzvendra Chahal, who are on lucrative contracts, played big roles in RR going as far as they did last year. They justified their price tags with their performances, especially Buttler and Chahal, who won the Orange and Purple Caps respectively.
Other names on the roster, however, have quite literally failed to live up to their billing. Here are three RR players who are on overpriced contracts for IPL 2023.
#3 Navdeep Saini
Navdeep Saini has raw pace, and not many do. However, the fast bowler has totally lost his way over the last few years, particularly in the shortest format of the game.
Saini was signed by RR at the IPL 2022 mega-auction for ₹2.6 crore, significantly more than other domestic fast bowlers with similar experience fetched. He played just two games last year, returning three wickets at an economy rate of 12.
Over his last three IPL seasons, the pacer has just nine wickets to show for from 17 matches.
Saini is a good bowler on his day, but he's 30 years old and hasn't been able to develop in the way RR would've wanted him to. It's safe to say that ₹2.6 crore seems slightly excessive for him right now.
#2 Trent Boult
The IPL 2022 mega-auction saw the Mumbai Indians desperately try to reacquire Trent Boult. They bid as much as ₹7.75 crore for the Kiwi fast bowler, but RR claimed the winning bid at a whopping ₹8 crore.
Boult had a decent campaign for the Royals last year, scalping 16 wickets in as many matches at an economy rate of 7.94. But is the left-armer, who is now 33 years old, worth such a big amount? He isn't a reliable death bowler, primarily only offers powerplay overs and doesn't have express pace.
Boult is reaching the end of his career at the top level, and his recent performances have reflected the same. The Royals would be wise to take the burden of his big contract off their shoulders soon.
#1 Devdutt Padikkal
When RR acquired Devdutt Padikkal for ₹7.75 crore at the IPL 2022 mega-auction, more than a few eyebrows were raised. The inaugural IPL champions already had Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler at the top of the order, and it didn't seem like they had a place for the Karnataka-born southpaw in his ideal role.
RR tried to make do with Padikkal in the middle order, but the move didn't really pay many dividends. While he played a couple of promising innings, he ended up with an average of 22.12 and a strike rate of 122.88 over the course of the season.
The left-hander often got stuck against spin, and his limited range was on full display in the middle overs.
Padikkal has struggled with health issues of late and his game isn't developed enough right now for him to command such a hefty price tag. Although he definitely has the potential to become a great T20 batter, his fit in this Royals side and current abilities don't match up just yet.