IPL 2018: SWOT analysis of the Rajasthan Royals Squad
The Rajasthan Royals will commence their IPL 2018 campaign against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday (April 9). They are back to the fray after a hiatus of two years and certainly have a point to prove in the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League.
Ajinkya Rahane will lead the RR squad this season, while Shane Warne is back to his beloved franchise as a mentor of the side.
Let us now dive into a SWOT analysis of the RR unit this year:
Strengths
A slate of powerful all-rounders
Rajasthan Royals is a franchise that was known for its conservative spending in the auctions of the Indian Premier League. However, they shook off that skin and went out of their way to buy thunderbolts at the event this year.
They picked up two of the best all-rounders of the players' pool in Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer. The former is a proven player in this format of the game and lived up to his hefty price tag for Rising Pune Supergiant.
RR have always had a heady mix of experience and youth in their ranks. However, what they have lacked is the presence of a superstar on the field. Stokes checks that box for them and is the kind of player who you can bet on with your bottom dollar.
They also purchased Karnataka’s star all-rounder, Krishnappa Gowtham, for big money at the auction earlier this year. Stuart Binny is another experienced campaigner who is a good utility player to have on your side
Strong batting unit
The batting line-up of the Royals is strong and is expected to have impressive depth. They have three brilliant batsmen at the top of the order in Rahane, D'Arcy Short, and Rahul Tripathi.
They will be followed by the power-hitting duo of Stokes and Jos Buttler. The talented Heinrich Klaasen might also come into the mix from time to time.
It is a formidable line-up with the willow, one which is as good as that of any other team in the IPL this year.