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Rajasthan Royals, the winners of inaugural edition of IPL, has qualified for the Champions League T20 for the first time. They qualified in 2008 but the tournament was cancelled due to Mumbai terror attacks so, this time they would hope that the tournament will go on as per the schedule.
As always they go into the 2013 CLT20 as underdogs. The Rahul Dravid led side has the likes of Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, James Faulkner and Sanju Samson in their ranks. They qualified for the tournament courtesy their third place finish in 2013 edition of the IPL. Every single player contributed towards the team’s success despite the spot-fixing scandal that hit the IPL and the Royals at the business end of the tournament. This is the last time that the fans will see Rahul Dravid playing for the Royals and the team from Jaipur would be looking to give him a fitting farewell.
Here is a complete analysis on Rajasthan Royals’ chances in the 2013 CLT20.
Squad:
Captain: Rahul Dravid
Coach: Paddy Upton
Batsmen: Rahul Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Menaria, Brad Hodge
All Rounders: Stuart Binny, Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper
Bowlers: Vikramjeet Malik, Rahul Shukla, Pravin Tambe, Siddharth Trivedi, Shaun Tait
Wicket Keeper: Sanju Samson, Dishant Yagnik
Strengths:
- Right mix of youth and experience
- Presence of some good death bowlers
- Solid openers in Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane
- Perfect balance in their squad
- Playing all their matches at the Sawai Man Singh stadium, Jaipur which is considered as the “Royal Fortress”.
Weakness:
- Local bowlers are a concern for the Royals
- Tendency to choke at big occasions
- Absence of quality spinners in their ranks
- Rahul Dravid is back to the field after 5 months so, he might be short of match practice.
X-Factor: Brad Hodge
He is considered as the most underrated batsman Australia had ever produced. Brad Hodge, one of the senior-most batsmen in the T20 circuit for years, has been the trump card for Rajasthan Royals batting line up in the IPL. Usually Hodge is a top order batsman but is used as a floater in the Royals line-up. He bats in the middle order for the Royals and binds their innings together.
In situations such as a huge chase, Hodge is often used as a finisher and has been successful essaying that role in the IPL. He is a complete batsman who bats sensibly according to the situation and can easily raise the scoring rate when needed. He follows the principle – “T20 is not about traditional slogging, but about cultured slogging”. It is a real blessing for Royals for having such a gifted batsman in their batting ranks. His form would remain as a crucial factor for Royals in the CLT20.
Players to watch out for:
Shane Watson: Key member of the Royals unit
Some experts feel that slogging is not necessary for a batsman to shine in T20 cricket. Batsmen with proper cricketing shots can also succeed in the shortest form of the game. There are some batsmen in the T20 circuit who prefer timing and placement rather than power and hard hitting in T20’s.
Royals’ openers, Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Dravid, are the best examples of this philosophy. Both these players are not hard hitters or sloggers but prefer to play the waiting game and build an innings before cutting loose. They have been one of the most successful opening combination in IPL for the last two seasons.
Dravid, the legendary Indian batsman, has announced his retirement from T20 cricket after the upcoming CLT20. He is one of those who firmly believes that Test match players can shine in T20 cricket too. His opening partner Rahane has been in and out of the Indian team for a long time and will be looking to cement his spot in the side with some good performances in the CLT20. This opening pair sets up the platform for players like Watson, Samson, and Hodge to smash the bowlers in the back-end of the game.
For a team to succeed in T20 cricket, the balance of the team is very crucial. More than the batsmen and bowlers, all-rounders have more impact in T20s. When it comes to team balance and presence of all-rounders in the team, the Royals are no pushovers. They have four quality all rounders who can be destructive on any day. Their all-round quartet comprising of Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, James Faulkner and Kevon Cooper can be a threat to any opposition.
Watson, one of the greatest T20 players at present, can hit the ball miles on a consistent basis and can chip in with some crucial wickets in the crunch situations. He has been the MVP in both 2012 ICC World T20 and 2013 IPL. His countryman Faulkner and Trinidadian Cooper have similar attributes. Both are decent hitters of the cricket ball and are formidable T20 bowlers and are capable of checking the run flow even in the death overs. Both of them have a good slower ball that can create some doubts in batsman’s mind.
Stuart Binny, the son of former Indian player Roger Binny is also a key all-rounder who is consistent with the bat and good enough with the ball. Any captain would to sneak in 14-16 overs from their all rounders without the help of the regular bowlers.
Possible Playing XI: Rahul Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Sanju Samson, Stuart Binny , Brad Hodge, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper, Pravin Tambe, Siddharth Trivedi, Vikramjeet Malik.
Rajasthan Royals Schedule:
Saturday 21 September v Mumbai in Jaipur
Monday 25 September v Lions in Jaipur
Sunday 27 September v Perth in Jaipur
Wednesday 02 October v Qualifier in Jaipur
