The eleventh season of Indian Premier League (IPL) will start from the seventh April. The BCCI and cricket fans will be hoping for an even bigger tournament.
The return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals has cricket fans relishing a top-class event. While every franchise has a much-changed squad, this biggest T20 tournament in the world is set to thrill the fans alike.
Through this series of articles, we will analyse the SWOT of every team in IPL 11. It can help to get an idea about the pieces which will form the jigsaw puzzle of this tournament
Rajasthan Royals
After a two-year hiatus, Rajasthan Royals are back. Before the tournament, they only retained Steven Smith. Royals went into the auction with a hefty purse and freely splashed money to get their targets.
This team was traditionally known as not going for big names. This auction was different as they acquired three of the top ten most expensive signings. A couple of weeks before IPL, Royals had a big blow when captain Steven Smith got banned.
Under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane and mentorship of Shane Warne, Royals will hope for an encore of 2008 to win the tournament. However, their players will need to fire in the absence of Smith to go all the way this season.
Franchise profile
Captain: Ajinkya Rahane
Head coach: Paddy Upton
Squad: Ben Stokes, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Stuart Binny, Jaydev Unadkat, Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, K Gowtham, Jos Buttler, D’Arcy Short, Rahul Tripathi, Dhawal Kulkarni, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Ben Laughlin, Dushmantha Chameera, Anureet Singh, Aryaman Vikram Birla, Midhun S, Shreyas Gopal, Prashant Chopra, Jatin Saxena, Ankit Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Heinrich Klaasen
Likely playing XI: D’Arcy Short, Rahul Tripathi, Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni
Key players: Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, Ajinkya Rahane
Strengths
1) A settled core from Rising Pune Supergiants: Australia’s former captain Steven Smith led now disbanded Rising Pune Supergiants from the front when they finished runners up last IPL. The team gained numerous fans for their fearless approach.
While trying to rebuild a team from scratch, the Royals spent money generously. As they looked to sign T20 specialists, they managed to assemble the core of the Pune franchise.
These four were pivotal as Supergiants came just short of lifting the coveted IPL trophy. Joining them is Ankit Sharma who featured in one match for the Pune franchise. With several talented players, Royals fans and management will hope that they have a big IPL this season.
2) Ben Stokes: It was one of the worst- kept secrets that Ben Stokes would be in great demand during the auction. While last few months were turbulent, Stokes remains a world class cricketer.
Regarded as the best all-rounder in the game, Ben Stokes became the costliest buy at second consecutive auction. He highlighted his worth last season as he was Rising Pune Supergiants’ best player.
(AP Photo/Tim Ireland)
He scored 316 runs in 12 innings at an average of 31.6 and strike rate of just under 143. He also took 12 wickets in the tournament at an economy rate of mere 7.18. Ben Stokes comes into this IPL with great experience and loads of talent.
He is an asset for any team and Rajasthan Royals are no exception.
3) A settled batting: While they will miss Smith, Rajasthan Royals have a settled XI for this IPL. Experienced Ajinkya Rahane, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson is an enviable middle order for a T20 side.
With promising Rahul Tripathi and exciting D’Arcy Short to open the innings, Rajasthan Royals seem to have covered most of their bases in terms of the batting aspects. While they may miss Steven Smith’s stability in the middle order, they have Heinrich Klassen signed as a replacement.
Rajasthan Royals approach this IPL keeping in mind that their batting is good enough to register a big score or chase down a strong total to win a match.
Weaknesses
1) No quality spinner: Spinners have been important for the IPL sides. While assembling a side full of exciting signings, Rajasthan Royals are lacking an experienced spinner.
They ended up spending around $1.2 Million on highly rated spin all rounder Krishnappa Gowtham. He comes off a highly successful domestic season for Karnataka. The Royals may play Shreyas Gopal to assist Gowtham as well. A spinner reminiscent to the great Anil Kumble, Gopal got his fans through the domestic season.
It will be interesting to see if they can bring their form to the IPL. Failure to do so might be a cause of concern for the returning Royals.
2) Lack of death bowlers: Rajasthan Royals have a good pace bowling trio of Dhawal Kulkarni, Jofra Archer and Jaydev Unadkat. However, except Archer, none have traditionally been lethal in death overs. While he had an outstanding Big Bash, Archer has never played in India before. Kulkarni had a good domestic season.
However, Unadkat had a forgetful Nidahas trophy and South Africa tour where he leaked runs continuously. Royals may need to rely on Stokes to partner Archer to get the end overs. Royals will hope that Unadkat performs like last season, where he was one of the best players at Supergiants. Death bowling can cause a headache during this IPL for the Royals.
3) Not enough quality replacements: While they have organised a settled XI for this IPL, Royals appear short on the replacements. They spent a large amount of money to get their players. It has left them acquire exciting young talents on their base price.
They lack on quality replacements who can get into their team if someone gets injured. Heinrich Klassen and Stuart Binny may be the only competent replacements in that case. It can be troublesome if players like Buttler, Samson or Unadkat get injured during the tournament.
Opportunities
1) Jaydev Unadkat: Unadkat’s reputation grew leaps and bounds last edition as he finished with 24 wickets. In this process, he finished as the second highest wicket taker of IPL 2017. Within last year, Unadkat consolidated his place in India’s limited overs setup. However, he has not been able to match his IPL performances while playing for the national side.
With Shami’s India future in doubt, race to become India’s third seamer has heated up. Matching exploits of last IPL will be crucial for this Gujarat born paceman to cement his place in the Indian side.
2) D’Arcy Short: Bash 7 gave birth to another Australian superstar in D’Arcy Short. The explosive batsman, born in Northern Territory, finished the tournament as the top- scorer with 572 runs. He subsequently made his Australia debut in Trans- Tasman Tri- Series against New Zealand.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
His form continued in Australia jersey as Short completed the series with 196 runs at an average of 49. He was one of the most anticipated players in the IPL auction. Short attracted a bidding war and eventually fetched just over $800,000.
Short comes into the tournament with a great reputation. The tournament is an excellent opportunity for this youngster to further his stock in the game.
3) Jofra Archer: Like Short, West Indian Jofra Archer was one of the best players of this Big Bash. He attracted many suitors during the auction and costed royals a whopping $1.435 million.
He comes into the IPL with a strong reputation. He will hope for a fruitful IPL, playing a key role for the Royals. This will be Archer’s first stint in the cricket crazy nation of India. He has become a popular name among Indian cricket fans after his exploits down under.
Archer appears Royals’ number one death bowler as well. This IPL produces an opportunity for Jofra Archer to master world’s number one domestic T20 tournament.
4) Rahul Tripathi: Rising Pune Supergiants started last season slowly. They won only one of their first four matches. As the season went on, they rode a wave of consistent performance. Their success was largely accredited to young Rahul Tripathi.
He galvanised the whole team. He became the second player from Maharashtra to play in the IPL. Tripathi was one of the finds of last season, amassing 391 runs in 14 innings at the Strike Rate of over 143.
Tripathi was acquired for around 680,000$ by Royals for this IPL. Strong performances in this tournament can bring him in contention for Indian T20 side. Additionally, IPL 2018 can help this talented opener prove that he is there to stay and not a one season wonder.
Threats
1) Steven Smith scandal: Smith’s absence can be a blessing in disguise for the Royals. This lets them play dynamic Short in every match. However, Smith as a captain might be missed. It was him who led Supergiants from the front in the last IPL. He promised stability in middle order as well.
It shall be seen how much Smith’s absence will Royals’ tournament. A bigger concern may be how upbeat the side remains. Royals make their comeback after a 2- year ban for match fixing. It can be ominous for their morale that less than two weeks before the tournament, their leader got banned as a punishment of cheating.
Ajinkya Rahane may have his task cut out to rally his troops together and deliver a confident performance.
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