First ever IPL XI of Rajasthan Royals - where are they now?

Rajasthan Royals is one of the franchises which were a part of IPL right from the first year in 2008. It was suspended in 2015 for two years due to alleged betting charges and the franchise made a comeback to the league in 2018.

Rajasthan is a team which has always blooded youngsters and has given them a platform to succeed at the highest level. A number of players have come through the ranks of the Royals and have gone on to represent India.

Royals were the side which had won the first ever IPL trophy in 2008. The team was led by the legendary Shane Warne, and they went on to win the cup with an inexperienced side. The team had set a precedent which hasn't been replicated by any of the IPL sides.

Rajasthan played their first match in IPL against Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla. The team was totally outplayed, as the Daredevils won the match with 10 wickets to spare.

1) Taruwar Kohli

Kohli also played for Kings X1 Punjab in 2009

Taruwar Kohli was the opening batsman of the Rajasthan team in their first match against Delhi. He had a poor outing in that match as he scored a mere 7 runs off 12 balls with a six to his name.

Kohli then made his Ranji debut in 2008 for the Punjab team against Saurashtra in Rajkot. He then went on to play for his home side Kings XI Punjab in the 2009 season. He didn't taste much success in the IPL and was dropped by the Punjab team as well.

The Punjab lad continued playing in the Ranji trophy for his state. He even scored a triple century in a Ranji match in 2011 against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur. He is presently playing for the Punjab team in Ranji trophy.

2) Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan has won IPL thrice in his career

Yusuf Pathan was an important part of the Rajasthan Royals team throughout the first season of the IPL. He scored 10 runs in 5 balls in the first match before being run out by Mithun Manhas.

Pathan had a brilliant first season in the IPL as he scored 435 runs at a brilliant average of 31. He then went on to play for India on the back of his impressive performances for the Royals and was also part of the World Cup winning Indian squad in 2011.

Pathan, throughout his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders, was an important part of the side and was then picked by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2018 season. He is also an important part of the Baroda Ranji team now.

3) Shane Watson

Watson will be playing for CSK this year

Shane Watson was also a part of the first-ever Rajasthan Royals squad. He scored 21 runs off 15 deliveries and had 4 boundaries to his name. He was the second most important member of the team that year after Shane Warne.

Watson scored 472 runs in the inaugural season of the IPL at a phenomenal average of 47. He has an impressive record in the IPL, scoring 3177 runs in 117 matches at an average of 32 and has also scored four centuries in IPL.

Watson played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore last year. He is playing in T20 cricket leagues across the world and is presently playing an important role in the Chennai Super Kings side.

4) Mohammed Kaif

Kaif last played in IPL in 2012 for RCB

Mohammad Kaif was the only player in the then Rajasthan team who had played for India. He scored 9 runs off 19 deliveries at a strike rate of 47 and had a poor outing in that match.

Kaif scored 176 runs in 16 matches at an average of 16 that season. His poor run continued, and he finally finished his playing career with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2012. He was then appointed as the assistant coach of the Gujarat Lions, and he served in that position until last year. He is presently a Hindi commentator and can be seen as a cricket expert on the Star Sports Hindi 1 channel.

5) Darren Lehmann

Lehmann's last stint in IPL was with Kings X1 Punjab

Darren Lehmann was bought by the Rajasthan Royals as a cover for Graeme Smith who was set to miss the first three games of IPL. He scored 1 run off 2 balls in the game, and he played only in the first two matches of that season.

Lehmann then coached the now defunct Deccan Chargers in 2009 before performing his final role in the IPL as the coach of Kings XI Punjab in 2013. He was in charge of the Australian cricket team till the ball-tampering incident ended his stint in 2018.

6) Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja is the biggest find of Rajasthan Royals

Ravindra Jadeja is probably the biggest find of the Rajasthan Royals in their 8 years of IPL. He had a decent first outing as he scored 29 runs off just 23 deliveries and was the highest run scorer for the Royals in that match.

Jadeja then went on to become an important player for the Chennai Super Kings and the Indian World Cup side of 2015. He played for the Gujarat Lions side in 2016 and 2017 season. He is presently a part of the Indian team and the Chennai Super Kings side in the IPL.

7) Mahesh Rawat

Rawat has 18 dismissals in IPL

Mahesh Rawat was a part of the Rajasthan Royals team which made history in the first ever season of IPL. He scored 2 runs off 4 deliveries at a strike rate of 50 in the first match of the tournament for the Royals.

Rawat was then a part of the now-defunct Pune Warriors squad and has played for Central Zone, India A, India Red and Haryana teams in domestic competitions. At present, he is a part of the Ranji team of Railways.

8) Dinesh Salunkhe

Salunkhe was touted as the future star of the Indian team by Warne

The Mumbai lad was a part of the first-ever Rajasthan Royals team which took on Delhi Daredevils in Delhi. He scored 26 runs off 20 balls in that match and bowled an over in the match and conceded 11 runs in that over.

Salunkhe's case is a unique one as he hasn't played a single domestic match before or after his stint with the Rajasthan Royals, and he moved into the wilderness once the first IPL season was over. At present, he runs a coaching academy in Mumbai where he is training the future stars of Indian cricket.

9) Shane Warne

Warne will be Royals' coach this year as well

The legendary spinner was the captain of the Rajasthan team which went on to win the cup. He scored 14 runs in 13 balls at a strike rate of 108 and bowled two overs in which he conceded 16 runs.

Warne, after his retirement from the IPL. played in the Big Bash League for the Melbourne Stars in the inaugural season. He is presently the coach of the Rajasthan Royals team and will be back with the team in the summer.

10) Siddarth Trivedi

Trivedi last played a first-class match in 2015

Siddarth Trivedi scored just 3 runs off 7 balls and bowled 3 overs to give away 32 runs in the first match of the season. Though he didn't have a great first game he was a runaway hit with the fans in the 1st season itself. He continued with his exploits till the 2011 season.

Trivedi, however, was unable to continue his performance in the 2012 season and his cricketing career came to an abrupt end when he admitted to taking money from the bookies in 2013.

11) Munaf Patel

Patel played for Gujarat Lions in 2017

Munaf Patel was the only batsman of the Royals side who didn't get an opportunity to bat in that match, and he bowled 3 overs in which he conceded 25 runs. He was once hailed by many as the future of Indian fast bowling.

Patel's career hasn't quite gone on a trajectory it was expected to. His stint with the Indian team came to a premature end as his performances were below par at the international level.

He played for Baroda from the 2008 season and is now fighting for a place in the team. He played for the Mumbai Indians from 2011-2013, and he then made a comeback in the IPL after a break of more than 1400 days as he was picked by the Gujarat Lions to play for them in 2017. He went unsold in the 2018 Auction and will not play a part in 2019 IPL either.

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