IPL 2018: Rajasthan Royals' predicted XI for their first match

Things have not been great for the Rajasthan Royals lately; they are making a return to the IPL after a two-year hiatus due to their involvement in unbecoming activities. Moreover, they had retained Steve Smith who was later barred from playing in the IPL following the ball-tampering controversy.

RR are looking to enter the tournament with a clean slate, and they would love to kick off this season in style by defeating the Sunrisers Hyderabad on 9th of April at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Let's take a look at the probable playing XI for RR in their first match.

Opening batsmen

Opening the batting for Rajasthan Royals will likely be skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Australian sensation D'Arcy Short.

Short proved his mettle as an explosive batsman by winning the Player of the Tournament in the recently played Big Bash League. He scored 572 runs with an extraordinary average of 57.20, and he also essayed a match-winning knock against New Zealand in his debut T20I match.

Rahane will be an able partner for Short and the two of them can together provide the Royals with a solid start. Rahane is a skilled technical batsman who has scored over 3,000 runs in his IPL career so far, he thrives under pressure.

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Middle order batsmen

Sanju Samson after scoring a century for DD last year

Rahul Tripathi was one of the main reasons for Rising Pune Supergiant reaching the final in 2017. He scored seven 30+ runs in eight innings after which he was promoted up the order. Overall, he scored 391 runs in 14 innings at a thunderous strike rate of 146.44.

Tripathi finished as the second highest run-getter for his side. Having him in the middle order can work wonders for RR.

Sanju Samson and the South African wicket-keeper Heinrich Klaasen are valuable names in the middle order of this batting line-up. Samson scored 386 runs in 14 matches for DD last year, which included a phenomenal century off 63 deliveries.

Klaasen was recruited by RR as a replacement for Smith. He is a clean striker of the ball and is well-known for being an amazing player of spin. His performance against India was incredible, especially the T20 match in Centurion where he scored 69 off 30 balls to help South Africa successfully chase down 189 with six wickets to spare.

The Royals do have the option of swapping Klaasen with Jos Buttler, but considering Klaasen's abilities as a finisher he is likely to get the nod.

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All-rounders

Ben Stokes will be a key player for RR

Ben Stokes and Stuart Binny will play the role of all-rounders for the team.

Stokes made headlines last year when Rising Pune Supergiant chose to get his services at a jaw-dropping price of Rs 14.5 crore. But he proved to be extremely valuable for Pune and almost single-handedly took them to the final. The Englishman scored 316 runs in 12 matches that included a century and two half-centuries, and he also performed well with the ball by taking 12 wickets.

Stuart Binny is a prolific all-rounder who struggled last year and did not perform as per the expectations. He has an excellent opportunity to set things straight this year with RR. Binny is capable of scoring quick runs down the order and can also take wickets for his side.

Spinners

All eyes will be on K. Gowtham this IPL season.

Krishnappa Gowtham and Ankit Sharma will secure the spin bowling front for RR this year.

Gowtham, the right arm off-spinner from Karnataka, sent shockwaves across the media after he was bought for a whopping price of Rs. 6.20 crore. He is regarded as an excellent spin bowler in the Indian domestic cricket who can play some effective knocks with the bat too.

Gowtham possesses a good T20 record, having bagged 20 wickets in 27 matches at an economy rate of 7.06. He has also scored 310 runs at an impressive strike rate of 159.79, and can prove to be a very crucial player for RR.

Ankit Sharma is the slow left-arm orthodox bowler.from Madhya Pradesh who can play a handy role with the bat too. He even opened the innings for RR in a match against CSK in the 2014 IPL season and scored a valuable 30 along with a good bowling performance of 2/20 in four overs.

Ankit has a great opportunity to showcase his skills for RR this year.

Fast bowlers

Most expensive Indian player in IPL-11.

Jaydev Unadkat turned a lot of heads after RR paid a whopping Rs. 11.50 crore to pick him for IPL 2018, making him the most expensive Indian player at this year's auction. The left-arm quick now has a reputation of being a crucial T20 bowler after his performance in the IPL last year when he took 24 wickets at an economy rate of 13.41. He is an effective bowler in the death overs.

West Indies' pacer Jofra Archer came into the limelight after he was bought for a whopping 7.2 crore rupees by RR this year. The right-arm pacer will take on the responsibility of fast bowling for RR alongside Unadkat.