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Rajasthan Royals were the first-ever franchise to lift the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy. The Jaipur-based franchise started as underdogs in the 2008 IPL season, but they brought their A game to the table and won the championship under Shane Warne's captaincy.
The Royals have never relied on big names and have put their faith in the youngsters instead. RR gave a platform to the likes of Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Sachin Baby, Swapnil Asnodkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Siddharth Trivedi, and many others to showcase their talent during the first eight seasons.
The new IPL team owners of the Rajasthan Royals franchise implemented a different strategy from the 2018 season onwards. They splurged enormous amounts to sign proven match-winners Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer.
Unfortunately, RR have not been able to add a second IPL trophy to their cabinet.
Still, quite a few players have impressed while wearing the Rajasthan Royals jersey in the IPL. In this article, we will look at five players who represented multiple IPL teams but brought out their best for RR.
5. Yusuf Pathan scored his only IPL hundred for the Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals signed Yusuf Pathan ahead of the inaugural IPL season. The Baroda all-rounder proved to be a game-changer for them, scoring 435 runs at a strike rate of close to 180, and picking up eight wickets in 2008.
Pathan was also named the player of the match in the first-ever IPL Final. He picked up three wickets in the first innings against Chennai Super Kings and then played a match-winning knock of 56 runs to guide RR to the title.
The Royals held on to him for two more seasons. In all, Yusuf aggregated 1,011 runs for the team, slamming six fifties and a hundred. He also picked up 20 wickets for RR.
Pathan could not play with the same consistency for KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad later in his IPL career.
4. Naman Ojha
Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Naman Ojha played for three IPL franchises in his career. Ojha made his debut for the Rajasthan Royals in 2009 and played 22 matches for the Jaipur-based franchise across two seasons.
The right-handed batsman aggregated 545 runs at an average of 28.68 for the Royals. Ojha's batting strike rate was 127.04, whereas he recorded four IPL fifties during his two-year stint with the Royals.
Ojha represented Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the latter phase of his IPL career. But he could only record two half-centuries in a total of 72 innings for Delhi and Hyderabad. His strike rate also dropped below 120.
3. Shane Watson
Former Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Shane Watson was the first player to be adjudged the player of the series in IPL history. Watson scored 472 runs, and picked up 17 wickets for the Jaipur-based franchise in the 2008 IPL.
Watson stayed with RR until the 2015 season. He donned their blue jersey 78 times, aggregating 2,372 runs and picking up 61 wickets. Rajasthan Royals team management even appointed him as the skipper for a brief period.
Watson's excellent performances helped him win the Most Valuable Player of the Season award in the 2013 IPL.
Although his numbers were great when he played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Chennai Super Kings later in his career, they were not as good as his statistics for the Jaipur-based franchise.
2. Johan Botha
Johan Botha played for three different franchises during his 7-year long IPL career. He started with the Rajasthan Royals before plying his trade for the Delhi Capitals and the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Royals used Botha as an all-rounder by sending him up the batting order and regularly giving him 3-4 overs with the ball. Botha amassed 335 runs at an average of 30.45 in 19 innings for RR.
His only IPL half-century came while donning the RR jersey - against the Deccan Chargers in 2011. Botha even scalped 19 wickets for Rajasthan while conceding runs at an economy rate of 6.85 runs per over.
Unfortunately, Botha could not replicate the same performance for the other two teams. His batting average dropped to 7.33 at DC, and the South African star managed only one wicket in four games for KKR.
1. James Faulkner picked up two five-wicket hauls for the Rajasthan Royals
Australian all-rounder James Faulkner is the fourth highest wicket-taker in IPL history for the Rajasthan Royals. The all-rounder joined the RR franchise in 2013. Before that, he had played a season each for the Pune Warriors and the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).
Faulkner's first two IPL teams did not give him a longer rope. The Pune Warriors included him in their playing XI only once, while Faulkner played two games for Punjab in IPL 2012.
The Rajasthan Royals backed him and gave him a place in 16 matches of IPL 2013. Faulkner repaid the team management's faith with 57 runs and 28 wickets. His tally of 28 wickets included a couple of five-wicket hauls versus the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Faulkner played two more seasons for the Rajasthan Royals and ended with 382 runs and 47 wickets for the Jaipur-based franchise. His performance dipped after he switched to the Gujarat Lions in 2016.
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