RR's best playing 11 plus Impact Player after IPL 2025 Auction ft. Sanju Samson & Jofra Archer
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) came into the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction with the lowest budget among all 10 teams. Understandably, that proved to be a roadblock for the inaugural IPL champions.
The Royals signed some talented players at the auction, including Nitish Rana, Jofra Archer, and Wanindu Hasaranga. However, some problems that have plagued them over the last few IPL campaigns have remained, and won't please captain Sanju Samson.
RR's squad for IPL 2025: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, Kunal Singh Rathore, Riyan Parag, Nitish Rana, Yudhvir Singh, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Kumar Kartikeya, Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma.
On that note, here is RR's strongest side, including an impact player, for IPL 2025.
Openers: Sanju Samson (c & wk) and Yashasvi Jaiswal
Having excelled at the top of the order for the national team, Sanju Samson is expected to move up to opening the batting for RR as well. Without Jos Buttler in the mix, Samson playing as an opener is a straightforward decision.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who wasn't at his best in IPL 2024, will need to deliver a prolific campaign to make up for RR's lack of batting depth. Vaibhav Suryavanshi is unlikely to be ready for the big stage, but Rajasthan will certainly be looking to groom him like they did with Jaiswal.
Middle order: Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shimron Hetmyer
New signing Nitish Rana should slot in at No. 3, not disturbing the positions of Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, and Shimron Hetmyer. Wanindu Hasaranga's spin hitting lends itself to a middle-order role, but with the above names in the mix, the Royals might not be able to give him that. They could opt for some flexibility in that department, with the bulk of finishing responsibilities lying on Hetmyer's shoulders.
Shubham Dubey being picked in the lower order is a serious possibility, given the Royals' lack of batting depth. But that would leave the team with only five bowling options, and with the pace attack being unreliable outside Archer, that might be a real problem.
Lower order: Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Yudhvir Singh, Sandeep Sharma
Archer and Theekshana will be two of RR's most important bowlers in IPL 2025, with Fazalhaq Farooqi and Kwena Maphaka serving as the former's backups. Tushar Deshpande, their main Indian signing at the auction, will partner the Englishman in the pace attack. The retained Sandeep Sharma will have a big role to play as well.
Rajasthan will need to choose between Akash Madhwal and Yudhvir Singh if they want a fourth pace option, and the latter might be a better option since he would give them an additional weapon with his hit-the-deck bowling in the middle overs. Madhwal's skiddiness could be well-suited to Jaipur's low surface, but having an enforcer might be more important to the team's fortunes.