Rajasthan Royals (RR) decision to retain their core before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction may have major implications on how they perform. Being short on cash, when compared to some other franchises, meant that they had to make do.
They worked fine for the most part. The batting looks good. They have almost 10 fast bowling options. But they are short on spinners and all-rounders. Keeping this in mind, if RR wants to lift the IPL 2025 trophy, they’ll have to find the perfect XI.
Riyan Parag at 4, Dhruv Jurel at 5
They won’t have a problem with batting. Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal will take care of things on top. Nitish Rana can fill the number three spot, and Riyan Parag, who came of age last season, will be at four. From there, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, and Shubham Dubey finished the match or chased down a big total with their power-hitting.
Hasaranga & Theekshana, RR’s new spin twins
Wanindu Hasaranga will be the sole all-rounder. Some may want to count Nitish or Parag, but their record would suggest otherwise. They are part-timers at best.
He’ll be the first spinner, while his Sri Lankan teammate Maheesh Theekshana will be the other spinner. It does seem like a downgrade on Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, but they’ll have to work with what they have.
Jofra Archer & Sandeep Sharma to lead pace pack
As for pacers, they’ll have Sandeep Sharma and Jofra Archer. Both can bowl in the front and back. The other pacer might start or come in as the impact player. For that, they might choose Yudhvir Singh, who can clock 140 km consistently.
Ashok Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, and Akash Madhwal can do the trick in the middle overs as well. It might just come down to preference or the pitch in the end.
Predicted RR XI for IPL 2025
Sanju Samson (c & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer✈️, Shubham Dubey, Wanindu Hasaranga✈️, Sandeep Sharma, Jofra Archer✈️, Maheesh Theekshana✈️
Impact Substitute: Yudhvir Singh
Bench: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Kunal Rathore, Tushar Deshpande, Fazalhaq Farooqi✈️, Kwena Maphaka✈️, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Ashok Sharma
