The Indian Premier League’s bidding war is over. The sides are now ready for the face-off. They have selected the players they wanted, maybe not because someone else bought them by giving more price or by using the Right to Match (RTM) card. Anyhow, they now have the squad of 18-26 players in their sheet who will try to win the trophy when the tournament kicks-off in April later this year.
IPL 2018: SWOT Analysis of the Rajasthan Royals
Let us try to do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the sides. In this piece, we will talk about Rajasthan Royals. Royals are back to the fore after facing the 2-year suspension. Chennai Super Kings too returns for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League along with the Royals.
Rajasthan Royals Squad:
Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Ajinkya Rahane, 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
Rajasthan Royals had won the inaugural season of the tournament when spin-wizard Shane Warne led the side to the championship. Let us analyze the team with respect to SWOT.
Strengths:
Returning to the fore again will be their biggest motivation for the side after facing the 2-year ban. Auction’s most expensive player Ben Stokes is all set to feature for them. Royals were known to go for players with less reputation behind their names but this time around, the think tank had different things on their mind as they went for the star-studded players in the auction.Australia cricket league’s top two players in the form of Jofra Archer and D’arcy Short too were grabbed by the franchise. With Smith, Stokes, and Buttler as overseas batters along with Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson, their batting unit looks formidable.
Weaknesses:
Lack of explosive opener who can go all gun blazing from the word go can be a major issue for the Royals in the upcoming IPL. The owners spent a hefty sum for the pacer Jaydev Unadkat. Apart from Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni is the only Indian bowler (bought using RTM) with some experience. The side also lacks a quality spinner in the side which can hurt them in the tournament.
Opportunities:
After winning the first edition of the tournament back in 2008, It has been more or less a pale show by the franchise. This time around, with a stronger batting unit they have the opportunity to turn the things around and win the trophy. Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will get an opportunity to present his case for the national selection as well.
Threats:
When T20 arrived, it was said that spin will die from the game. In past couple of years, wrist-spinners have been playing a massive role in victories for their sides. The run making is difficult against quality spinners and when the opposition bats against the Royals, they may not face the quality spin which will hamper the chances for the Royals.
Tags: Chennai Super Kings, CSK, DD, Delhi Daredevils, Indian Premier League, IPL 2018, Kings XI Punjab, KKR, Kolkata Knight Riders, KXIP, MI, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, RCB, Royal Challengers Bangalore, RR, SRH, Sunrisers Hyderabad, SWOT Analysis
