'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Rajasthan Royals are currently placed at the seventh position on the IPL points table. They have won only three matches and lost six so far in IPL 2019, having suffered several setbacks up to the mid-point of the tournament.
To make it to the next round, Rajasthan Royals would have to win all their remaining matches and also hope that the results of the other teams' matches go a certain way.
So far Jos Buttler is their most successful batsman of the season with 311 runs from 8 innings at an average of 38.88, striking at 151.71. Jofra Archer is the pick among their bowlers with 11 wickets from 9 matches, and his economy rate is 6.6.
Most of the overseas players of Royals are from Australia and England, who are set to leave for the World Cup preparations soon. Buttler has already left for England to attend the birth of his first child. It has been confirmed that he will not be available for the rest of the season, as he will be joining the England squad for the series against Pakistan.
It has also been confirmed that Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer will leave the Rajasthan camp on 23rd April. Steven Smith also will leave in a few days' time to join Australia's practice camp.
On that note, let's have a look at the possible changes in the Royals' XI for the upcoming matches.
Batsmen - Ashton Turner and Liam Livingstone
Ashton Turner has already made it into the playing XI. He has played two matches so far and gotten out for a duck in both the matches.
He is batting in the middle order, and RR would expect him to play the finisher role for them.
Liam Livingstone will come to the playing XI once Smith leaves for national duties. He has played one match in this season and got out for one run. Livingstone will likely open the batting for RR along with Sanju Samson or Ajinkya Rahane.
Bowlers - Oshane Thomas and Ish Sodhi
Oshane Thomas is the potential replacement for Jofra Archer. He is yet to get a game in this season though.
In the ODI series against England, Thomas picked 9 wickets from 4 matches. It'll be interesting to see whether Thomas is able to replicate a similar performance on Indian soil.
There are no overseas all-rounders in the RR squad to replace Ben Stokes, so they would have to make adjustments with domestic players to fill that slot. Riyan Parag will have to play the role of the all-rounder in the coming matches.
The replacement for Stokes in the lineup will likely be the Kiwi spinner, Ish Sodhi. Sodhi has played one match in this season where he picked up one wicket but went for plenty of runs.
Expected XI
The RR's expected XI for the matches after 22 April is as follows:
Liam Livingstone, Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Ashton Turner, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tripathi / Stuart Binny, Jaydev Unadkat, Shreyas Gopal, Dhawal Kulkarni, Oshane Thomas, Ish Sodhi.
Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on purple cap, points table, schedule, news, live scores, orange cap and fantasy tips.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download Cric Rocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more!
