IPL 2014: Rajasthan Royals' ideal playing XI
A lot is expected from Sanju Samson this season
At a time when the media is abuzz with the highest windfalls clinched in the IPL Auctions, a certain team managed to build a strong squad away from all the attention. Rajasthan Royals have played their auction moves well with a lot of good buys within their budget. With Rahul Dravid as their mentor, they look all set to repeat their maiden season feat in this edition of the extravaganza. The retention of key players-Ainkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, James Faulkner and Sanju Samson had helped ease out their buying dilemma.
Let us do a comparative analysis of squads of 2013 and 2014
| Role | 2013 | 2014 |
| Batsman | Brad Hodge | Brad Hodge |
| Ajankya Rahane | Ajankya Rahane | |
| Rahul Dravid | Unmukt Chand | |
| Owais Shah | Karun Nair | |
| Sachin Baby | ||
| Ankeet Chavan (withdrawn) | ||
| All-rounders | Shane Watson | Shane Watson |
| James Faulkner | James Faulkner | |
| Stuart Binny | Stuart Binny | |
| Kevon Cooper | Kevon Cooper | |
| Ashok Menaria | Steven Smith | |
| Rajat Bhatia | ||
| Abhishek Nayar | ||
| Ben Cutting | ||
| Wicket-Keeper Bat | Sanju Samson | Sanju Samson |
| Dishant Yagnik | Dishant Yagnik | |
| Kusal Perera | Ankush Bains | |
| Shreevats Goswami | ||
| Spinners | Pravin Tambe | Pravin Tambe |
| Bradd Hogg | Iqbal Abdullah | |
| A Chandila | Ankit Sharma | |
| S Badree | ||
| Harmeet Singh | ||
| Fast bowlers | Shaun Tait | Tim Southee |
| Siddharth Trivedi | Dhaval Kulkarni | |
| Vikramjeet Malik | Vikramjeet Malik | |
| S Sreesanth (withdrawn) | Kane Richardson | |
| Fidel Edwards | Deepak Hooda | |
| Amit Mishra |
Interestingly, they have managed to increase the depth in each department by some well-thought buys- which include a big pool of street smart all-rounders. Undoubtedly, Steven Smith and Tim Southee are the biggest fish netted this season. Southee will have the onus in absence of Tait and Edwards, although he looks less likely to get a game straightaway.
The probable eleven that they might field can be:
Top three (1, 2)
Watson and Rahane have opened before, and both have had success in piling up runs at the top. If Sanju Samson opens, Rahane or Watson will go down to strengthen the middle order. The team think-tank might not experiment beyond these three initially.
Middle order (4,5,6)
A lot of options are available this season. Steven Smith and Brad Hodge are certainties. Unmukt Chand might get a look in at no.6 as RR can’t afford to play more than four foreign players, so out of the large pool of all-rounders-only Faulkner, Watson and Smith will make the initial cut,with Hodge completing the quota of 4 foreign players.
Lower batting order (7,8)
Faulkner and Binny will provide the firepower at these positions, with their big hitting abilities and a potential to take away games in a couple of overs.
Bowling department (9,10,11)
The plethora of all-rounders would mean less pressure on frontline bowlers to take wickets. The ‘Four foreign player restricion’ would mean Tim Southee sitting out of a few matches. Pravin Tambe will make it to the starting eleven as lead spinner in absence of the veteran Hogg. The fast bowling unit might consist of Dhaval Kulkarni and Rajat Bhatia or Deepak Hooda/Amit Mishra as the surprise exclusion in the eleven.
Probable starting eleven
- Sanju Samson
- Ajinkya Rahane(wk)
- Shane Watson (Cap)
- Brad Hodge
- Steven Smith
- Unmukt Chand
- Stuart Binny
- James Faulkner
- Rajat Bhatia/Deepak Hooda
- Dhaval Kulkarni
- Pravin Tambe
This eleven looks to have a deep batting order and a plenty of lethal bowling options. If everything goes right, 2014 might be RR’s year.