IPL 2021 Auction RR strategy: All you need to know Rajasthan Royals Retained Players, RR Released Players List in IPL 2021 , Rajasthan Royals entered IPL 2020 with a clear strategy – their overseas department was set, and the management hoped that their foreign players’ performances could lead them to the playoffs. The tactic somewhat worked, as they won first two matches where they scored more than 200 runs in each of those matches. But after that Royals went down steadily and despite a late resurgence they were never really in the race for play-offs save for improbable mathematical calculations.
Now RR will aim to fine tune their squad in IPL 2021 mini-auction and build a squad who can challenge for the title.
Here’s all you need to know about RR’s strategy in IPL 2021 mini-auctions:
RR IPL 2020 Squad: Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Steve Smith, Robin Uthappa, David Miller, Ankit Rajpoot, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Akash Singh, Oshane Thomas, Andrew Tye, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tewatia, Shashank Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anirudha Joshi, Tom Curran, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Anuj Rawat
Players who are certain to be retained in IPL 2021 as per InsideSport assumption:
Ben Stokes: He is arguably the best all-rounder in the game right now. With performances in the World Cup and the Ashes, Stokes has already achieved legendary status. He also became the national team’s captain for a few games. Although he has not been great in IPL in recent years, Stokes is someone who can win you games single-handedly. When he scores, there is an impact, and more often than not, his team will end up on the winning side. While that’s about his batting, Stokes is also a useful bowler. He can act as a filler, and when needed, the New Zealand-born cricketer can also do the job at the death.
Jofra Archer: Archer belongs to that category of bowlers, which comprises the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada. While the pace is his main weapon, Jofra’s specialty lies in controlling it as per the situation. The Englishman has also got a few variations up his sleeve. Along with all of this, Jofra is also a decent batsman. His strength lies in hitting over the boundaries, and for a guy who bats in the tail-end, that is a good thing.
Jos Buttler: Buttler was not extra-ordinary in IPL 2020, but he has been RR’s best player since 2018. Hence, he must be the first pick that RR must make before the auctions. Buttler is a quality T20 cricketer. He is a sweet timer of the ball, and when he gets going, there are very few better batsmen than him on the planet. The Englishman is also a fine wicket-keeper, and this would help RR play a pure specialist domestic batsman. We also opine that Buttler should be RR’s captain from the upcoming campaign.
Other players who are certain to be retained: Sanju Samson, Rahul Tewatia, Steve Smith, Kartik Tyagi, Tom Curran
Players who are likely to be retained in IPL 2021 as per InsideSport assumption:
Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Oshane Thomas, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shashank Singh, Mayank Markande, Anirudha Joshi, David Miller
Players who will be definitely shown exit door in IPL 2021 as per InsideSport assumption:
Jaydev Unadkat: Unadkat was the most expensive Indian player at the IPL auction in 2018 where he fetched a staggering Rs 11.5 crore deal from RR. He was released ahead of the new season and bought back again for Rs 8.4 crore by the Royals. Despite releasing him twice, RR showed faith in the left-arm pacer once again as they roped him in for Rs 3 crore in the auction last year. But Unadkat’s performances remained below-par once again in IPL 2020 – where he managed to play only seven games and picked up 4 wickets and conceded 228 runs.
Robin Uthappa: Uthappa has been a seasoned campaigner in IPL, over the years. However, he has struggled for consistency in the past two seasons. He was roped in by RR at the player auction last year to add steel to their middle-order which lacked a prominent Indian face. But Uthappa was far from his best in IPL 2020 and could manage to score only 196 runs in 12 games. Some of his best knocks came while opening the innings but he looked out of steam and might be released by the franchise.
Andrew Tye: The Australian pacer played only one game for Rajasthan Royals this season where he conceded 50 runs off his four overs before being dropped from the side. He was not picked again throughout the season and is likely to be released with Jofra Archer nailing down the overseas pacer’s slot in RR and Oshane Thomas as his back-up. With the likes of Buttler, Smith and Stokes in the squad, RR rarely play two overseas pacers in the same XI and might look at bringing in an all-rounder in place of Tye.
Other players who will be shown exit door: Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Akash Singh, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror