IPL 2019: 5 Players Rajasthan Royals should sign in the auction

Although the Rajasthan Royals won the first edition of the IPL, they have only made it to the playoffs only thrice since then and disappointed the fans. Even though the team had the potential to win it all, they could not finish the business because they lacked some serious game-changers and sometimes, the players they bought did not deliver in the way they should have delivered.

Last season, they returned back to the league after a two-year-hiatus and sent out a statement in some fashion, making it to the playoffs with some terrific performances. In the Eliminator, they lost to the two-time IPL champion, Kolkata Knight Riders. They failed to chase a paltry total of 169 and suffered an embarrassing defeat.

The team has enough talent at the top of the batting order but need some key all-rounders and fast-bowlers. Let us take a look at five players Rajasthan Royals should sign in the IPL 2019 auction.

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#5 Jason Holder

Jason Holder's monster-hitting can help RR post big totals

Role: Bowling all-rounder

Rajasthan Royals are in desperate need of a power hitter who can smash the ball out of the park with ease and Jason Holder has all the credentials to be that player. The West Indies skipper is one of the finest all-rounders in the game today.

The bowling all-rounder did not get the kind of opportunities that he should have gotten and featured in just 3 editions of the world's most popular league. In the last year auction, he was not selected by any of the eight franchises and went unsold to everyone's surprise.

While he can bowl all 4 fours like a regular bowler and pick up wickets, he also has the batting prowess to come and finish in the end with some lofty hits and take the team to a high total. Having an all-rounder like Jason Holder who is also known for his captaincy tactics can help Rajasthan Royals and better their chances of winning the title.

#4 Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan is back to form in the series against Sri Lanka

Role: Middle-order batsman

In the shorter format, Eoin Morgan has been very successful and played game-winning knocks in the middle-order, on several occasions. After some brilliant knocks early in his career in ODIs, he was given chance in T20s and has cemented his place in the squad.

He was one of the most expensive players when he was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the third edition, but he failed to live up to the expectations. To not many people's surprise, he went unsold in the last year auction. Over the years, Morgan has enjoyed a lot of opportunities because of his credentials in the international circuit but failed to impress the fans.

In the 52 matches that he has played so far in the IPL, he has scored 854 runs at an average of 21.35. Albeit these stats are not eye-catching but he did have a few innings where he chipped in with crucial contribution with the bat.

On his day, he can definitely hit bowlers all around the park and in the recently concluded one-day series against Sri Lanka, the left-hander was the highest run-scorer with 195 runs in 4 innings at a mind-blowing average of 195.0. His presence can give some cushion to the middle-order and RR should keep an eye on Eoin Morgan.

#3 Josh Hazlewood

Josh Hazlewood will immensely help the RR bowling unit

Role: Right arm medium-fast

Josh Hazlewood is a name that needs no introduction to cricket fans. He is currently the co vice-captain of the Australian Test team and is also one of the mainstays of the bowling unit along with Mitchell Starc.

The right arm pacer is known for his accuracy and hits the right areas to trouble even the best of the batsmen. After opting out of IPL in 2015 and subsequently getting released by Mumbai Indians, he remained unsold in last year's auction and it came as a surprise to a lot of people as no one expected that such a quality pacer gets left out.

Hazlewood is currently continuing his rehabilitation and is on the sidelines. The New South Wales cricketer can help the RR bowling unit immensely once he is back fit and with the Rajasthan Royals' bowling unit lacking depth in the bowling department, he can provide them some much-needed relief.

#2 Varun Aaron

Varun Aaron was magnificent with the ball in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy

Role: Right-arm fast

Varun Aaron is known for his pace and is one of the fastest bowlers in the country. The Jharkhand bowler's career has been plagued with injuries but he is still trying hard putting in all the efforts to get back into the team.

In the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018, the right arm pacer rattled through the batting line up and dismantled the oppositions. He picked up 18 wickets in the tournament in just 8 matches at an economy rate of 5.00.

Although he was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders for three seasons, he never got the opportunity to feature in the playing XI. His most memorable season came with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014 when he picked up 16 wickets in 10 matches and came up big every night. However, he did not enjoy great success later on in the IPL and in the last season, he went unsold.

Rajasthan Royals can definitely make use of his services as the IPL veteran is known for picking up wickets with his pace albeit he leaks runs sometimes. His presence in the bowling department can solve their inconsistency issues.

#1 Jalaj Saxena

RR can benefit hugely from Jalaj Saxena's all-round ability

Role: All-rounder

Jalaj Saxena is one of the hottest names in the domestic circuit currently. He is one of the most consistent all-rounders in first-class cricket with more than 5000 runs and 200 wickets under his belt.

He showed his dominance in the Ranji Trophy 2018 and scored 522 runs in 13 innings at a breath-taking average of 52.20. He showed up in the bowling department too and picked up 44 wickets in 14 innings. He was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament and destroyed the batsmen with his off-breaks. Thanks to his performances, the Kerala Ranji team entered the quarter-finals of Ranji Trophy for the first time in their career.

After setting the stage on fire at Ranji Trophy, he continued to show his prowess at Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018 and picked up 12 wickets in 6 innings for the Kerala team.

Mumbai Indians signed him as a replacement for Lendl Simmons and he was with the franchise for two years but never played a game. Saxena then signed with the Royal Challengers Bangalore but the story was similar and he warmed the bench. In the last year auction, the all-rounder went unsold.

A team like Rajasthan Royals who are in dire need of a reliable all-rounder can definitely use him to bolster their all-rounder slot and with Jalaj in the form of his life, RR should definitely make the most out of the auction by signing him to a contract.