IPL 2019: 3 Rajasthan Royals players to watch out for

IPL 2019 is just a few days away as it is scheduled to kick off on March 23. The first team to win the IPL title, Rajasthan Royals, will start their campaign on March 23 against Kings XI Punjab at their home ground Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

After winning the cup in the very first IPL season, the Royals haven't been able to lift the trophy again. Last season, they surprisingly qualified for the playoffs at the very last moment but eventually, they got out of the tournament after being defeated by KKR in the eliminator.

The Royals have a decent squad for the upcoming edition. So they will surely want to get their hands on the IPL trophy for the second time.

Here, we take a look at 3 players from Rajasthan to watch out for.

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#3 Oshane Thomas

Oshane Thomas

West Indies' new fast bowling sensation Oshane Thomas has already made a name of himself in a very short period. He is said to be the next big thing in West Indian cricket. He is a bowler who can consistently bowl over 145 kph.

Thomas made his ODI and T20I debut during the Windies' tour of India in 2018 and impressed everyone with his fast and furious bowling.

CPL 2018 proved to be a breakthrough tournament for the Jamaican fast bowler as he bowled exceptionally well in CPL 2018. Thomas picked 18 wickets from just 10 matches at an excellent average of 17.66 and was the second leading wicket taker of the tournament.

The Windies speedster was bought by the Royals for INR 1.1 crores at the IPL auctions 2019. Thomas will add more firepower to the Royals' fast bowling attack. With the addition of Thomas, Rajasthan's pace battery has become even more furious as they already have Jofra Archer and Varun Aaron in their fast bowling attack. The trio of Archer, Thomas, and Aaron will be a treat to watch in IPL 2019.

#2 Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler will be one of the most important players for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2019

Swashbuckling right hand English batsman Jos Buttler is currently one of the most dangerous batsmen in the limited overs in the world. He is someone who can win matches for his team single-handedly.

Buttler was Rajasthan Royals' best batsman last season as he scored 548 runs from 13 matches at an impressive average of 54.80 and an unbelievable strike rate of 155.24 with unbeaten 95 being his best. Last year, he also equals Sehwag's record of 5 consecutive fifties in IPL.

So far, the 28-year-old has played a total of 37 matches in IPL and has scored 1075 runs from them at an average of 34.68 and a strike rate of 150.56. Meanwhile, he has smashed 6 half-centuries.

The Royals will have high hopes from the English batsman this season as well. It will be interesting to see if Buttler can replicate his last season's performance in IPL 2018 as well.

#1 Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson will surely want to make a mark in IPL 2019

Kerala's stylish right-hand batsman Sanju Samson is one of the star performers in Indian domestic circuit. Samson was one of the top performers with the bat for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2018.

In IPL 2018, The 24-year-old scored 441 runs from 15 matches at an average of 31.50 and a strike rate of 137.81, with 92 being his highest score. These numbers could have been even better as Samson started the tournament on a very good note and his performance in first half of the tournament was quite impressive but he somehow lost the track in the second half of the tournament.

As far as his overall IPL stats are concerned, the Kerala batsman has scored 1867 runs from 77 innings at an average 26.67 and a strike rate of 127.35 with 102 being his best. Meanwhile, he has slammed 10 fifties and 1 century.

So far, Samson has never performed according to caliber in any of the IPL seasons. Over the years, his biggest problem has been his inconsistency. So if he could add consistency to his game, he could be one of the best batsmen in IPL.