IPL 2020: Rajasthan Royals (RR) Squad Rating for the Season

With the highest rating in the middle-order category, let’s look at the overall squad rating of Rajasthan Royals (RR) for IPL 2020.

It has been 12 years since the Rajasthan Royals have been carrying the title, ‘Dark Horse‘ on their back. The team has always been about the youth, and few key players that they expect to step-up. While it worked for them in 2008, it has mostly backfired in the rest of the seasons with zero final appearances since then. 

Come to 2020, the season looks no different for the ‘Men in Pink’. It is the same old strategy of investing in youth and few key players in a hope to do better. The youth they have invested this time include the U19 trio of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karthik Tyagi, and Akash Singh along with Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, and M. Markhande to name a few. 

On the opposite, they have got some really superb names in the overseas department. In addition to the primary quartet of Jos Buttler, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, and Jofra Archer, RR bought Tom Curran, David Miller, Andrew Tye, and Oshane Thomas for the 2020 campaign. 

So, have Rajasthan Royals got a squad that can excel in all the conditions and all pitches? Let’s look at our amazing article where we find the overall squad rating of Rajasthan Royals (RR) for IPL 2020 considering all the categories.

Please note:

• The squad rating for IPL 2020 is calculated for five primary categories viz., Openers, Middle-order, All-rounders, Spinners, and Pacers.
• The player roles are bracketed as Main players, Good backups, and other backups, and all are being rated on a scale of 10. However, for overall rating calculation, the weighted average is taken with higher weightage given to the main players. 
• The players are relatively rated for their primary category basis their last two IPL’s performance, and/or their current International/Domestic form.
• While a player can play an additional role as ”Backup’, all categories should have a unique set of main players. 

Before we begin, let’s look at the benchmark players in our 5 primary categories against which every other player is relatively rated. 

• Opener: David Warner
• Middle-order: Virat Kohli
• All-rounder(s): Hardik Pandya and Andre Russell
• Spinner: Rashid Khan
• Pacer: Jasprit Bumrah

Alright then, without wasting any time, let’s look at the squad rating for Rajasthan Royals (RR) for IPL 2020.

Openers – 8.17

Two Main Openers: Jos Buttler and Robin Uthappa 

Good Backup Opener: Manan Vohra

Other Backup Opener(s): Yashasvi Jaiswal 

One of the best openers in the tournament, Jos Buttler would lead the opening duties for Rajasthan Royals alongside a new opening partner in Robin Uthappa. Given Uthappa’s performance in the last two years, he seems to be a like for like replacement for Ajinkya Rahane, who was released from the squad ahead of 2020 auction. 

Meanwhile, Jos Buttler has been breathing fire in the last few editions of the IPL, and has been a consistent fixture for RR at the top. His fearless and consistent batting has given RR good starts on many occasions. If available for the entire season, this could turn out to be Jos Buttler’s best season with the bat. 

Backing then are Manan Vohra and Yashasvi Jaiswal. While Vohra has some experience under his belt, he hasn’t been able to capitalize on it. Yashasvi, on the other hand, is the emerging player to watch out for. He has been in exemplary form in Domestic Cricket, and has an amazing temperament to succeed. 

So, in metrics, Jos Buttler gets a rating of 9.5, Robin Uthappa gets a rating of 8.25, Manan Vohra gets a rating of 7.25, whereas newcomer Yashasvi Jaiswal gets a rating of 6.75 (although we expect it to change in 2021 season with a superb performance in IPL 2020). 

Overall, RR get a cumulative average rating of 8.17 in the openers category.

Middle-order – 8.39

Three Main Middle-order Players: Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, and Ben Stokes 

Two Good Backup Middle-order Players: David Miller, Riyan Parag and Jos Buttler, Robin Uthappa

Other Backup Middle-order Player(s): Mahipal Lomror, Shashank Singh, Anirudha Joshi

Probably the strongest of the 5 categories for Rajasthan Royals with strong middle-order players in the form of Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, and Ben Stokes. Not from the performance angle, but all three are very important from Rajasthan Royals’ core players perspective. 

While Sanju has been a core fixture of RR for the last two years, Steve Smith was a regular member of RD before his ban in IPL 2018. Ben Stokes may not have had the desired success with the franchise, but he has been in exceptional form playing for Rising Pune Supergiant. 

While the core three are solid, Rajasthan Royals have only the experienced, David Miller and the emerging, Riyan Parag as the unique middle-order players in the line-up. Rest they would have to rely on opener-middle-order, Uthappa and Jos Buttler along with Lomror, Anirudha and Anuj Rawat. 

In metrics, Steve Smith and Sanju get a rating of 8.75 each, while Ben Stokes gets a rating of 8.25. In backups, David Miller gets a rating of 8.25, Riyan Parag gets a rating of 7.5, and Mahipal Lomror and Anirudh Joshi get a rating of 6.5 and 6 respectively. 

Overall, RR get a cumulative average rating of 8.39 in the middle-order category.

All-rounders – 7.81

Two Main All-rounders: Ben Stokes and Tom Curran

Good Backup All-rounder: Riyan Parag

Other Backup All-rounder(s): Mahipal Lomror, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Anirudha Joshi

One of the two categories for Rajasthan Royals where they lack quality players in the squad. If we observe the squad, there’s only one name that stands-out in the all-rounder category, and that is of Ben Stokes. But, as good as Stokes’s International record been in the last two years, his performance in the IPL has been the opposite.

Apart from Ben Stokes, RR have Tom Curran, who might not play many games, but is a good option in Archer’s absence. Then, they have part-time all-rounders in the form of Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Anirudha Joshi. All of whom can give you decent 2-3 overs.  

So, in metrics, Ben Stokes gets a rating of 8.5, while Tom Curran gets a rating of 7.75. In backups, Riyan Parag gets a rating of 7.5, Mahipal Lomror gets a rating of 7, Yashasvi Jaiswal gets a rating of 6.92, and Anirudha Joshi gets a rating of 6.33. 

Overall, RR get a cumulative average rating of 7.81 in the all-rounders category.

Spinners – 7.5

Two Main Spinners: Shreyas Gopal and Mayank Markhande

Good Backup Spinner: Rahul Tewatia

Other Backup Spinner(s): Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Anirudha Joshi

Similar to the all-rounder category, Rajasthan Royals have only 1 good and experienced name in the foray, and that is of Shreyas Gopal. The lad was exceptional last year, and should have won the ‘Emerging Player of the year’ for his performance. But, he couldn’t replicate his performance as much as he would have liked playing for India A.

The other player in the kitty is Mayank Markhande, who was released by Mumbai Indians before the auction. While there is definitely talent with Markhande, he hasn’t had much success last year. Backing him is another leggie, Rahul Tewatia, who too was traded before the IPL 2020 Auction from Delhi Capitals.

The selection of two leggies in addition to Gopal shows RR’s love for leggies Only if they had not released Ish Sodhi, because then that would have made them a uni-dimensional team of leggies. Also, not to forget Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is a good part-time leggie himself.

Nevertheless, Rajasthan Royals do have three finger-spinners in the form of Mahipal Lomror, Anirudha Joshi, and Riyan Parag. In metrics, Shreyas Gopal leads the pack with a rating of 8.75. He is followed by Mayank Markhande with a rating of 7.75, Tewatia with a rating of 7, Lomror with a rating of 6.75, Riyan Parag with a rating of 6.5, Yashasvi Jaiswal with a rating o 6.25, and Anirdha Joshi with a rating of 6.  

Overall, RR get a cumulative average rating of 7.5 in the spinners category.

Pacers – 8.2

Two Main Pacers: Jofra Archer and Andrew Tye

Good Backup Pacer: Ben Stokes

Other Backup Pacer(s): Oshane Thomas, Tom Curran, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Rajpoot, Varun Aaron, Kartik Tyagi, and Akash Singh

The category where Rajasthan Royals have players in abundance. They have probably the second-best pacer of the tournament, Jofra Archer, who is currently nursing an injury, and is expected to get fit before the tournament. Then they have IPL 2018’s best bowler, Andrew Tye as their best available pacers- who hasn’t had the bests of 2019. 

Talking about Indian pacers, there is an abundance of quantity, but definitely a question mark of quality on some of these. There’s Unadkat, who hasn’t had the bests of performance with RR, decent pace options in Ankit Rajpoot and Varun Aaron, and emerging backups in Kartik Tyagi and Akash Singh.

Yes, then they have three more options in the form of Ben Stokes, Tom Curran, and Oshane Thomas. To be honest, barring Archer and somewhat Stokes, experienced pacers don’t inspire much confidence based on their domestic/ international performance last year.

Nevertheless, In metrics, Jofra Archer gets a rating of 9.5, Andrew Tye and Ben Stokes get 8, Oshane Thomas, Tom Curran, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Rajpoot, and Varun Aaron get 7.75. while emerging talents, Kartik Tyagi gets a rating of 7.75, and Akash Singh gets 6.75. 

Overall, RR get a cumulative average rating of 8.2 in the pacers category.

Conclusion: 

Rajasthan Royals (RR) get an overall squad rating of 8.04 for IPL 2020; the worst of all the teams. While the rating is just an indication of how good the team is on paper, there is no doubt about the players’ capabilities. If Rajasthan Royals can follow their 2008 path, they can definitely have their second triumph; the task which currently looks humongous. 

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