IPL 2019: Rajasthan Royals (RR) Team Rating Detailed Analysis

Rajasthan Royals have a fairly decent squad with a team rating of 8.25 for IPL 2019. However, the dark horse still have it in them as they eye their second IPL title.

Rajasthan Royals have always been the dark horse in the IPL. Even with a sub-par team and performances from their star players, they still managed to finish their IPL 2018 campaign in the fourth position. 

Coming to IPL 2019, we analyzed the Rajasthan Royals’ strengths and weaknesses for IPL 2019 in our previous article. Don’t forget to check that out.

In this article, we will be focusing on rating the Rajasthan Royals IPL 2019 squad in different categories, viz., Openers, Middle-order, All-rounders, Spinners, Pacers and Key backups in each category.

Please Note:

• We feel a perfect team combination would consist of two openers, three middle-order batsmen, one batting all-rounder, one bowling all-rounder, two spinners, two pacers and good backups in each category.
• Each category would have a maximum rating of 10 with a rating of 8 for key players and 2 for backups.

Right then, let’s look at the Rajasthan Royals (RR) rating for IPL 2019.

OPENERS:

Benchmark: David Warner (SRH)

Two Main Openers for RR: Ajinkya Rahane and Joss Butler

Good Backup Openers: Rahul Tripathi

Decent Backup Openers: Manan Vohra, Prashant Chopra, and Aryaman Birla

Rajasthan Royals have a good complementing duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Joss Butler in the opening department.

Ajinkya Rahane had a good IPL 2018 as he finished the season with 370 runs from 14 innings at an average of 28.46 and a strike rate of 118.21. If he can improve on his strike rate, he can be a lethal opener.

For his good performances over the years, Rahane gets a rating of 3 out of 4.

Joss Butler looks dangerous when he opens, and that’s what happened in IPL 2018. He made an enormous 548 runs from 13 innings at an average of 54.8 and a strike rate of 155.24. He has also been in fantastic form recently playing for England.

For his superb performance last year and current form, Butler gets a rating of 3.75 out of 4.

Coming to the backups, RR have Rahul Tripathi as a good backup. He has previously performed well playing as an opener for Rising Pune Supergiants and for Maharashtra too.

Coming to decent backups, Rajasthan Royals have Manan Vohra, Prashant Chopra, and Aryaman Birla. 

RR get a rating of 1.75 out of 2 for the backup opening options.     

Overall, Rajasthan Royals Openers Rating: 8.5/10

MIDDLE-ORDER:

Benchmark: Virat Kohli (RCB) and AB de Villiers (RCB)

Three Solid Middle-order Players for RR: Steve Smith, Sanju Samson, and Rahul Tripathi

Good Backups: Ben Stokes, Ashton Turner, and Liam Livingstone

Decent Backups: Riyan Parag

In IPL 2018, Rajasthan Royals had a slightly shallow middle-order in the absence of Steve Smith. This time, the middle-order looks good in the form of Sanju Samson, Steve Smith and Rahul Tripathi.

Sanju Samson is someone who is very pleasing to watch. He didn’t have a fantastic IPL 2018, but did good scoring 441 runs from 15 innings at an average of 31.5 and a strike rate of 137.81.

For his potential and past performance, Sanju Saanson gets a rating of 2.5 out of 3.

Steve Smith would be itching to prove himself after serving a year-long ban imposed by Cricket Australia. The man is an asset in whatever format he plays. He didn’t play IPL 2018, but has had success in previous IPL editions.

Hence, Steve Smith gets a rating of 2.75 out of 3.

Either Ben Stokes or Rahul Tripathi would be expected to play at number five. Considering Rahul Tripathi would not get to open, he would be expected to play in the middle-order. Tripathi hasn’t been successful though playing in the middle-order.

Hence, Rahul Tripathi gets a rating of 1.25 out of 2.

Ashton Turner and Liam Livingstone are fantastic middle-order options to have while Riyan Parag is a decent backup option. However, a good Indian backup is what they must be missing. 

RR get a rating of 1.75 out of 2 for middle-order backup options.

Overall, Rajasthan Royals Middle-order Rating: 8.25/10

ALL-ROUNDERS:

Benchmark: Andre Russel (KKR) as the batting all-rounder and Sunil Narine (KKR) as the bowling all-rounder 

Batting All-rounder for RR: Ben Stokes

Bowling All-rounder for RR: Krishnappa Gowtham

Batting All-rounder Backup: Stuart Binny, Mahipal Lomrar and Shashank Singh

Bowling All-rounder Backup: Jofra Archer and Shubham Ranjane

Like IPL 2018, Ben Stokes and Krishnappa Gowtham would be expected to lead the all-rounder department.

After being the player of the tournament in 2017, Ben Stokes didn’t have a good IPL 2018. As a batsman, he scored only 196 runs from 13 innings at an average of 16.33 and a strike rate of 121.73. As a bowler too he took only 8 wickets from 13 innings at an average of 27.87 and an economy rate of 8.18.

Hence, Ben Stokes gets a rating of 3.25 out of 4.

Krishnappa Gowtham had a good debut IPL 2018. He not only scored valuable runs down the order but also took useful wickets in the middle. As a bowler, he took 11 wickets from 15 innings at an average of 28.36 and an economy rate of 7.8 and as a batsman, he scored 126 runs from 13 innings at an average of 14 and a superb strike rate of 196.87.

Hence, Krishnappa Gotham gets a rating of 3 out of 4.

Coming to the backups, Rajasthan Royals lack quality as they have Stuart Binny and Shashank Singh as their batting all-rounder backups and Jofra Archer as the bowling all-rounder backup.

RR get a rating of 1.5 out of 2 for all-rounder backup options.   

Overall, Rajasthan Royals All-rounders Rating: 7.75/10.

SPINNERS:

Benchmark: Rashid Khan (SRH)

Two Main Spinners for RR: Shreyas Gopal and Ish Sodhi

Good Backup Spinners: Sudesan Midhun and Mahipal Lomrar

Decent Backup Spinners: Ashton Turner and Liam Livingstone

Rajasthan Royals have two potential wrist spinners in the form of Shreyas Gopal and Ish Sodhi.

Shreyas Gopal had a good debut IPL last year as he accounted for 11 wickets from 11 innings at an average of 28.36 and an economy rate of 7.61. He has done well in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy too. He would be the bowler to watch out for in IPL 2019.

Hence, Shreyas Gopal gets a rating of 3.25 out of 4.

Ish Sodhi has been New Zealand’s primary spinner in the limited-overs cricket. In IPL 2018, he played only for few matches, but was impressive as he took 5 wickets from 6 innings at an average of 27 and a superb economy rate of 5.86. 

Ish Sodhi too gets a rating of 3.25 out of 4.

Coming to backups, Rajasthan Royals have plenty of options, but almost all of them lack the quality and experience.

RR get a rating of 1.5 out of 2 for spin bowling backup options.

Overall, Rajasthan Royals Spinners Rating: 8/10

PACERS:

Benchmark: Jasprit Bumrah (MI)

Two Main Pacers for RR: Jofra Archer and Jaydev Unadkat

Good Backup Pacers: Dhawal Kulkarni and Oshane Thomas

Decent Backup Pacers: Varun Aaron and Shubham Ranjane

Jofra Archer and Jaydev Unadkat would be expected to lead the pace bowling attack as they did last time.

Jofra Archer has been a force in recent times. He had a fantastic IPL 2018 too accounting for 15 wickets in 10 innings at an average of 21.66 and an economy rate of 8.36. He has also been in fantastic form in the other T20 tournaments he has played.

For his potential and past performance, Jofra Archer gets a rating of 3.5 out of 4.

Jaydev Unadkat didn’t have a good IPL 2018, but has been in superb form off-late.

For his potential and match-winning abilities, Jaydev Unadkat gets a rating of 3.25 out of 4.

Coming to the backups, RR have many good options in the form of Oshane Thomas and Dhawal Kulkarni and decent options in the form of Varun Aaron and Shubham Ranjane.

Hence, RR get a rating of 2 out 2 for pace bowling backup options.  

Overall, Rajasthan Royals Pacers Rating: 8.75/10

CONCLUSION:

Rajasthan Royals have a good squad, but they have some gaps too. Once England players go back for World Cup preparations, there would be a void that they would have to address. Anyway, their strengths are their openers and pacers. Don’t be surprised if you see Rajasthan Royals lifting the IPL 2019 trophy.

Assuming all players are available, an ideal Playing XI for Rajasthan Royals would be:

Ajinkya Rahane, Joss Butler, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat and Dhawal Kulkarni.      

Overall, Rajasthan Royals (RR) get a team rating of 8.25/10 for IPL 2019.

© AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics