IPL Auction 2022: 3 glaring issues with the RR squad that might be exposed
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) have finished in the bottom two places of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table in each of the last three seasons and desperately need a turnaround.
The mega auction, conducted earlier this month in Bengaluru, was expected to be their best shot at assembling a squad that can consistently compete for a playoff spot. But RR were barely involved over the two days and almost hurriedly filled up their roster towards the end of the event. Needless to say, they have a few holes in their squad this year.
RR's squad for IPL 2022: Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell
Here are three glaring issues with the RR squad for IPL 2022 that might be exposed down the line.
#3 RR's death bowling could be a massive problem
Although RR's bowling attack is decently constructed, they don't have reliable death bowlers and that could come back to bite them in IPL 2022. Sanju Samson and previous RR captains have had names like Kartik Tyagi, Mustafizur Rahman and Jofra Archer to call upon in the past, but the current roster lacks a specialist.
Trent Boult is the closest RR have to a death-overs specialist but the left-armer is on the back of an indifferent IPL season with the Mumbai Indians. His career economy rate of 9.91 at the death (overs 17-20) is decent but not spectacular, while his pace has been on the wane of late.
Others in the squad, like Nathan Coulter-Nile, Prasidh Krishna and Navdeep Saini, aren't renowned for their prowess at the death. RR's spinners can't be trusted to bowl in the slog overs, either. Obed McCoy has a good slower ball on him, but the team severely lacks quality death bowlers.
#2 RR have way too many top-order batters
Although they retained Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, RR opted to sign a similar player in Devdutt Padikkal for a sizeable sum. By doing so, the franchise created a logjam at the top of the order that can't be resolved easily.
To squeeze Padikkal and Jaiswal into the top order alongside Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler, the team management will have to play at least two players out of their preferred positions. The most likely solution is Jaiswal and Samson occupying Nos. 3 and 4 respectively, but whether they can adapt effectively remains to be seen.
RR's overseas batters, such as Shimron Hetmyer and Rassie van der Dussen, also prefer to bat in the top four. Riyan Parag, one of their frontline all-rounders, has a much better record batting up the order than he does while being used as a finisher.
RR have way too many top-order batters who must be part of their first-choice playing XI, and whether they can fit them effectively remains a massive question.
#1 RR have barely any quality all-rounders
RR's playing XI over the last two IPL seasons has been characterized by a plethora of all-rounders. Chris Morris, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Shivam Dube, Mahipal Lomror, Liam Livingstone, Ben Stokes and Glenn Phillips are some of the multifaceted cricketers who have turned out for the franchise recently.
But in IPL 2022, RR have barely any quality all-rounders who can contribute in both departments. Parag has been sporadically used with the ball, and he has been expensive whenever called upon. Coulter-Nile isn't a reliable batter, while Jimmy Neesham and Daryl Mitchell aren't much more than part-time options with the ball.
None of RR's top-order batters are regular bowlers. Most of their bowlers can't be relied upon to score even a few runs. The inaugural champions will find it almost impossible to bridge the gap between the batting and bowling departments, and their lower-middle order looks extremely weak as a result.