Rahane’s turn to fill big boots
RAJASTHAN ROYALS With Shane Warne as mentor, the new captain is in charge of a team that looks strong despite Steve Smith’s absence
NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals, into their ninth year in the Indian Premier League, have been pretty inconsistent ever since their fairytale title triumph in the inaugural edition.
After being banned from the previous two editions due to the match-fixing scandal of 2013, RR will have a point to prove this season.
Even before they could make a fresh start in IPL this season, Royals were in turmoil with their newly-named skipper Steve Smith caught ‘cheating’ in the balltampering row that shocked the cricketing world.
Much to their relief, Smith himself stepped down from captaincy and Rajasthan Royals replaced him with Ajinkya Rahane as leader of the team.
Rajasthan Royals would hope there is no more controversy and the focus remains on cricket. Despite Smith’s absence, the team looks good on paper. With batsmen like Rahane, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, all-rounder Ben Stokes, and promising Jofra Archer at their disposal, Royals have some of the best in the business.
Unlike in the past when Royals have been cautious with their spending, they opened their purse strings big time in this auction to build a strong all-round team.
They have two most expensive buys in Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat, who forged a potent bowling combination at Rising Pune Supergiant last season, guiding them to the final.
They have also bought some good domestic talent like Shreyas Gopal and K Gowtham of Karnataka. Both have been in good form and would be eager to prove themselves in the big league.
The return of Shane Warne, who guided them to title in the inaugural year in 2008, adds to the strength of the side.
It will be interesting to see how he combines with Rahane, whose attacking and proactive leadership came to the fore against Australia during the Dharamsala Test last year. A veteran of 111 IPL matches, his duty is to lay the platform with solid knocks. Captaincy could do wonders to Rahane, who is struggling to find a permanent place in India’s ODI and T20I teams. There was some concern earlier on his IPL availability after he got involved in a bar brawl. But Rajasthan Royals kept in mind the kind of impact he can have in tricky situations and shelled out ~12.5 crore. The most expensive Indian player in the auction (~11.5 crore), the left-arm pacer will look to deceive batsmen with cutters. In 2017, he took 24 wickets averaging 13 for finalists RPS. A new entrant, he is a regular in England’s ODI and T20I teams and relies on power-hitting. With 527 runs in 24 IPL games at a strike-rate of 145.98, he can be a safe bet as an opener and finisher. It’s a sort of homecoming for the Kerala player who is likely to shoulder RR’S wicket-keeping duties as well. He was Delhi Daredevils’ top-scorer last season with 386 runs including a century and two fifties. Playing for Hobart Hurricanes, the 27-year-old made a big impression in Big Bash League (BBL). He is the first player in BBL history to reach the 500-run mark in a season. Australian legend Shane Warne will return to the Indian Premier League a decade after he guided Rajasthan Royals to the title, this time as the team mentor. Warne played four seasons for Royals, retiring from the IPL after the 2011 season, but now returns as the franchise comes back from a two-year ban imposed after the spot-fixing scandal in 2013. Regarded as one of the greatest leg-spinners in the history of cricket, Warne took 708 wickets in 145 Tests during his 15-year international career. In 52 IPL games, he took 56 wickets. Apart from the numbers, Warne was responsible for shaping the careers of the likes of
Ravindra Jadeja,
Yusuf Pathan and
Shane Watson, all of whom have played at the highest level.
Come IPL 2018, Warne will mentor a squad featuring several youngsters like Rahul Tripathi, Shreyas Gopal and Mahipal Lomror and two Australians - all-rounder D'arcy Short and seamer Ben Laughlin. The absence of Steve Smith, handed a one-year ban for his role in the ball-tampering scandal in the Newlands Test between South Africa and Australia last week, is bound to hurt the 2008 champions.
With Ajinkya Rahane appointed the new skipper, it will be interesting to see how well the India Test vice-captain and the Aussie legend combine to take the team forward.
GETTYIMAGES Batting Spin