Having finished second in last year’s IPL, I had high hopes for the Rajasthan Royals at the start of the 2023 season. The majority of last year’s squad remained intact and the new additions were promising.
On paper, the Royals looked to be one of the strongest teams in the competition yet they found themselves eliminated before the playoffs, finishing the league stage in fifth place.
It’s hardly catastrophic. One more win would’ve seen the Royals in fourth place and still in contention for the title. But when you consider that RR won four of their first five games, it’s difficult not to be disappointed.
So where did it all go wrong?
Let’s start with the batting. Last year, Jos Buttler had one of the greatest IPL seasons of all time. Scoring 863 runs with an average of 57.53 at a strike rate of 149, it was unlikely that he’d be able to replicate this level of success for a second season in a row.
Buttler’s 2023 season is harder to describe. Sitting in 15th place on the run-scoring chart at the end of the league stage and finishing the season as Rajasthan’s second highest run-scorer, it was hardly a disaster. At the same time, 392 runs with an average of 28.00 and a strike rate of 139 doesn’t quite live up to his usual standards.
I should also probably note at this point that Buttler set a new record for the number of ducks in a IPL season with five. Not a record I expected him to be breaking this season, especially when you consider that his last (and only other) IPL duck was in his first season back in 2016.
But while Jos Buttler might not quite have lived up to expectations this year, someone who massively exceeded them was Yashasvi Jaiswal. Only 21 years old, the uncapped Indian batter has played for the Rajasthan Royals since 2020 and shown a lot of promise.
In 2022, Jaiswal scored 258 runs with an average of 25.80 and a strike rate of 133. This year everything clicked for him. He finishes the season on 625 runs with an average of 48.08 and a strike rate of 164.
Not only one of the highest scorers of the season, Jaiswal has been one of the most entertaining batters in the competition. He smashed an impressive 13-ball 50 against Kolkata Knight Riders, breaking the record for the fastest IPL 50, and scored 124 off just 62 balls for his first IPL century in a match where none of his teammates passed 20 runs.
Rounding off Rajasthan’s top-order big hitters is Sanju Samson. As always Samson was entertaining to watch, often kicking off his innings with a boundary but how much did he contribute to the team?
The 2023 season saw him score 362 runs with an average of 30.17 and a strike rate of 153. For comparison, Samson scored 458 runs in 2022 with an average of 28.63 and a strike rate of 147. So in fact the Royals’ captain had a marginally better season in 2023 than 2022.
Moving on to the middle order, Rajasthan Royals’ main contributors are Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel. Padikkal had a tricky season, finding himself dropped from a few games after struggling to find form. However, his 2023 stats (261 runs, 26.10 average, 131 strike rate) are actually better than 2022 (376 runs, 22.12, 123 strike rate).
Padikkal is clearly a player with a lot of potential but has struggled to play at his best for the Royals. He had a few promising performances towards the end of the season so if RR stick with him, hopefully he will continue to improve.
Shimron Hetmyer had another strong season; his standout statistic being his strike rate of 152. His contribution to the team was similar to last year with 300 runs and an average of 37.50 this year compared to 314 runs with an average of 44.86 and a strike rate of 154 in 2022. Hetmyer continues to be one of the best T20 finishers in the world and is a vital part of the Rajasthan Royals team.
Dhruv Jurel has been a real revelation this season. As a finisher, I’m not especially concerned by his average (21.71); what really stands out is his strike rate of 173. A vast improvement on Riyan Parag who struck at 139 in the 2022 season.
So all in all, Jos Buttler is the only batter who stands out as having had a worse season than 2022. Having still scored more runs than the majority of batters in the competition, I don’t think Rajasthan Royals’ failure to reach the playoffs can be blamed on him. Especially when you consider the huge contribution made by Yashasvi Jaiswal.
If Rajasthan’s batting unit was still strong this season, then was it the bowling that wasn’t up to scratch? Death bowling was probably Rajasthan’s biggest downfall in 2022 and this year saw them bring in Jason Holder to bolster their bowling efforts at the end of the innings.
Unfortunately RR weren’t able to get the most from Holder with the West Indian only featuring in eight of the fourteen league matches. Holder bowled 28.3 overs in the 2023 IPL, taking 4 wickets at an average of 71.00 and an economy of 9.96. Comparatively, Holder’s career average is 28.66 and his career economy is 8.05.
The Royals’ use of Holder overall was interesting (and by interesting I mean bad). He was often relegated to batting at 8, below Ashwin, and asked to bowl the middle overs when what the team needs is a death bowler.
Rajasthan’s greatest issues in the 2022 season were their lack of death bowling options as previously mentioned and the lack of depth in their batting lineup (Trent Boult at 8 is not a fun time). I thought their decision to buy Jason Holder at the auction was to remedy both of these problems. Instead they used him in the least effective way possible.
I expect they’ll release him ahead of the 2024 season and I don’t think that’s through any fault of his own. This team just doesn’t know how to get the best out of him.
It’s a shame it hasn’t worked because a fast bowling all-rounder is exactly the player this team needs and I’m not sure what options they’ll have at the next auction.
Last year, Rajasthan were able to make up for their sub-par death bowling with exceptional Powerplay bowling courtesy of Prasidh Krishna and Trent Boult. This year, Krishna was ruled out of the whole season due to injury and Boult only played 10 games because of a slight niggle.
When Boult did play, he was pretty spectacular, taking 13 wickets (almost all in the Powerplay) with an average of 24.00 and an economy of 8.21. For comparison, in 2022 he played 16 games and took 16 wickets with an average of 30.75 and an economy of 7.93. It’s clear to see that his bowling was much more effective this year.
The Royals brought in Sandeep Sharma to replace Prasidh Krishna which I think was a good move. Unfortunately he might be best remembered by Royals fans for years to come for bowling a no ball on the final delivery against Sunrisers Hyderabad then being hit for six on the resulting free hit, giving SRH the win.
Krishna’s 2022 season would be hard to beat, having taken 19 wickets at an average of 29.00 and an economy of 8.28. I would say Sandeep Sharma performed solidly this season, taking 10 wickets in 12 matches with an average of 39.60 and an economy of 8.60.
Given that there are relatively few high quality domestic players available as injury replacements, I think the Royals made a good choice in the circumstances, although I do hope to see Prasidh back to full fitness next season.
The other two regular fixtures in the Rajasthan Royals side are Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin. Both performed well this season although it was always going to be hard for Chahal to live up to his performance in the previous season.
This year Chahal was once again RR’s top wicket taker with 21 wickets at an average of 20.57 and an economy of 8.17. 2022 saw him take 27 wickets at an average of 19.51 and an economy of 7.75. So all in all another successful season for the IPL’s leading wicket taker.
In 2023 Ravichandran Ashwin took 14 wickets at an average of 26.28 and an economy of 7.51. An improvement on his 2022 stats of 12 wickets at an average of 41.91 and an economy of 7.50. His ability to maintain an economy of roughly 7.5 is especially impressive in a season in which there was a record number of 200+ scores.
Rajasthan’s fifth bowling option varied throughout the season, which in itself might be a problem. Often teams with a consistent starting XI fare better in competitions than those who constantly change up their sides.
Throughout the season, RR gave playing time to KM Asif, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, Obed McCoy, Adam Zampa, and of course the aforementioned Jason Holder. Zampa was the most successful of these, taking 8 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 23.50 and an economy of 8.54 but there aren’t many grounds that necessitate three spinners and only two seamers.
I would say the bowling is a much bigger issue for the Rajasthan Royals than the batting. A bowling attack containing Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Yuzi Chahal, and R Ashwin is very strong but a quality death bowler would really bring it together.
As I previously mentioned, I also think the team could benefit from an all-rounder. Many people have stated that the introduction of the Impact sub has made all-rounders redundant but I don’t agree.
The most common Rajasthan Royals starting XI consisted of six batters and five bowlers, regardless of whether they were batting or bowling first. This left no room for bowling changes when bowling first, with all five bowlers having to bowl their full allocation no matter how well they were playing.
The Royals’ use of the Impact sub hasn’t been ideal but at the same time I think the lack of all-rounder in the team has made things difficult for them.
If they had a quality all-rounder in their top six, they could have six bowling options when bowling first and the option to bring in a seventh batter for the second innings.
This might well be why Jason Holder hasn’t had the impact I expected on the team. While he adds depth to the batting lineup, his inclusion in the side still only leaves room for five bowlers.
The problem here is that Rajasthan’s top six is pretty set. There aren’t necessarily any players they would want to drop and equally there might not be any suitable players available in the next auction.
The final factor, and the one I would like to put the most weight on, is bad luck. Of Rajasthan’s seven losses, only two were resounding failures. Otherwise, they lost by small margins — 5 runs v PBKS, 10 runs v LSG, 7 runs v RCB, Tim David at his very best giving MI a victory with three balls to spare, that unfortunate no-ball that gave SRH the win.
If just one of those five matches had gone RR’s way, they would’ve finished in the top four so it’s difficult not to feel hard done by.
So how can the Rajasthan Royals find themselves back in the playoffs next season?
I don’t think a huge overhaul is required. I would expect Buttler to be back at his best next season and hopefully Jaiswal will continue to go from strength to strength. Sanju Samson is consistently brilliant and I believe still has the potential to achieve even more, although I’m not completely sold on his captaincy.
I might be incredibly biased but I find it frustrating that Rajasthan have a World Cup-winning captain in their squad and choose not to use him in this capacity.
Devdutt Padikkal is a player I might consider replacing. Having seen what he can do when he played at RCB, he clearly has a lot more to give but after two seasons at RR where he has failed to reach that level, it may be time to look elsewhere.
Shimron Hetmyer continues to be one of the best finishers in the world so his inclusion is a given. Dhruv Jurel has shown a lot of promise.
Bowling wise, Boult, Prasidh, Chahal, and Ashwin are an incredibly strong unit so it’s just a matter of finding the final piece of the puzzle.
In the absence of any new additions, I’d like to see Obed McCoy given more game time in 2024. He’s been Rajasthan’s best death bowler of the past two seasons, and given their success in 2022 when he played regularly, they certainly wouldn’t be any worse for his inclusion.
My hopes are still high for next season. With a little bit of good luck and a few small tweaks, Rajasthan Royals can still compete for the title. Although having seen how close this year’s season was, next year could be anyone’s.
Well done and also thank you for reading if you made it to the end of this article. If you have any thoughts, feelings or opinions about the Rajasthan Royals, please leave a comment. As you can probably tell, I could talk about the IPL and my beloved Royals all day long.
