"The bowling looks complete, but there is nothing outside the 12" - Aakash Chopra on Rajasthan Royals' backup issues heading into IPL 2025
Former player Aakash Chopra has noted that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) have assembled an impressive bowling lineup as part of their likely playing combination for IPL 2025. However, he added that the lack of proper backups could haunt the franchise.
The Royals spent ₹79 crore to retain six players, Sandeep Sharma (₹4 crore) being the only bowler among them, ahead of the auction. They spent ₹40.70 crore to acquire 14 more players, including Jofra Archer (₹12.50 crore), to assemble a 20-member squad.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that the lack of bowling backups could be a potential weakness for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025.
"If I see the fast bowling, the first XI or XII looks very good because you have got Sandeep Sharma and Jofra Archer. Then you have got a good bowler in Tushar Deshpande, who was with Chennai earlier and had picked up a lot of wickets. Then you have Akash Madhwal. You can use Shubham Dubey and Madhwal as Impact players," Chopra said (8:25).
"So you have Sandeep Sharma, Akash Madhwal, Tushar Deshpande, Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, plus a little bit of Riyan Parag. So the bowling looks complete, but there is nothing outside the 12. Backup is absolutely unavailable," he added.
Chopra opined that many teams have backup concerns. However, he added that the Royals might be the most affected.
"They are going with extremely limited backups, and there is a backup problem for all slots. Let's be fair, they are not alone. Many teams have backup problems this time, but this team might feel the pinch a little more because the chances of Sandeep Sharma, Akash Madhwal and Tushar Deshpande all having a good season are up in the air," he reasoned.
Chopra pointed out that the Rajasthan Royals also do not have an Indian left-arm pacer in their squad. While observing that they have two overseas left-arm seam-bowling options in Fazalhaq Farooqi and Kwena Maphaka, he highlighted that neither is likely to get a place in their playing combination.
"There is no backup for Shimron Hetmyer" - Aakash Chopra on the Rajasthan Royals' other issue
![The Rajasthan Royals retained Shimron Hetmyer for ₹11 crore ahead of the auction. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/12/14b83-17332073590236-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same video, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the Rajasthan Royals don't have an overseas batting backup for Shimron Hetmyer either.
"Another problem is that there is no backup for Shimron Hetmyer. At times, you don't have a good backup, but what will you do if you don't have one at all? They didn't buy anyone. Sherfane Rutherford and Rovman Powell were there, and there were plenty of other options available. They might have got someone for ₹75 lakh but they didn't buy anyone," he said (10:40).
Chopra noted that Hetmyer can't afford to get injured or lose form during IPL 2025. He added that the Royals have played a massive punt on the West Indies middle-order batter.