5 players RR must retain after Qualifier 2 finish in IPL 2024 ft. Sanju Samson and Sandeep Sharma 

A simple parlance at Rajasthan Royals (RR)'s IPL 2024 season will tell you that the squad isn't their problem. A bad squad can't win you eight of your first nine games to keep you on top of the table for weeks in a highly competitive season.

The issue behind their four losses in the next five games and, ultimately, a bad exit in Qualifier 2 on Friday was giving up on their identity after some losses and trying to fix and overcomplicate things that weren't broken.

But it's almost certain that we'll have a mega auction next year. That'll mean being allowed to retain only a few players and giving up on a lot more. Below, is our analysis on how can (or should) RR's preferences align for their retentions:

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#5 Sanju Samson

It's an obvious choice. RR's ambitions for the trophy are more likely to be successful with Sanju Samson than without him. Not only did the wicketkeeper batter had his best season for his primary skill -- 531 runs at an average of 48.27 with a strike rate of 153.47 -- but also led the team well on the field in most games.

With him getting a call-up to the national T20 side, Samson's stocks are only going to rise in the coming year. He has built this team well, garners respect from the franchise, players, and fans while also providing stability to the team. These qualities should make him the first name on that retention sheet.

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#4 Jos Buttler

The reason Jos Buttler doesn't take preference over Samson is the same reason why he isn't RR's captain. He has equal responsibilities as the English skipper which means his workload is usually high and he has to leave in key stages of the tournament sometimes to prefer national preparations and bilaterals.

Still, he remains one of the best T20 batters in the world, in his peak years with an extraordinary combination of versatility and experience behind him. Buttler didn't have his best season in IPL 2024 consistency-wise but still managed to sneak in two all-timer centuries to singlehandedly win RR four points in the group stage.

His skills would be invaluable for any team at the auction, which is why RR would probably let go for Jaipur before Buttler.

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#3 and 4 Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag

We are clubbing Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag together here because they represent a lot more than runs and wickets for RR. They are almost like home-grown academy products of RR, who got a chance here when not many believed in them and are now likely to be a massive part of the Indian team's future too.

Jaiswal had a middling season but he had played so much cricket before the season that you can pardon a bit of fatigue (he's still 22). Parag, meanwhile, had a breakthrough year with 573 runs, almost doubling his all-time IPL tally. There are a lot of signs that RR sees him as their next captain (hosting games in Guwahati, sending him for press conferences, etc), and realizing he seems out of the question.

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#5 Sandeep Sharma

It's a debatable and a left-field choice. But Sandeep Sharma should be one of the first names on the RR retention list. And yes, that's even though he went unsold in the IPL 2023 auction. He took 13 wickets in 11 games in IPL 2024 at 23.92, missing a few games due to injury, but that's not the important bit.

His economy rate of 8.18 was just behind Jasprit Bumrah for fast bowlers who bowled at least 25 overs in the tournament. He dominated the best batters in death overs (like Heinrich Klaasen on Friday) and kept it extremely tight with his assortment of slower-ones, cutters, and pin-point yorkers in the middle overs.

With wickets getting flatter and batting getting easier and more expressive due to the impact player rule, Sandeep is as rare as Bumrah in India's cricketing system. Thus, he should get higher preference over the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Dhruv Jurel, and Ravichandran Ashwin if it comes to limited retentions ahead of IPL 2025.