IPL: 3 most underrated Rajasthan Royals players of all time

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) have carved a niche for themselves as a breeding ground for young players in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

After winning the inaugural IPL season under the astute leadership of Shane Warne, RR haven't experienced the same success since. They served a 2-year ban for violating BCCI regulations but even in the three other seasons they have made the playoffs, RR didn't go any further than 3rd place.

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RR's underrated IPL players

In the IPL, despite their limited achievements, RR have boosted the careers of various relatively unknown players such as Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, and Yusuf Pathan. In a franchise where marquee names have been hard to find, it is difficult to label players 'underrated'.

However, some international stars and Indian youngsters have slipped under the radar of fans of the IPL. In this article, we take a look at three Rajasthan Royals players who didn't get the recognition they deserved for their time in Jaipur.

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#1 Johan Botha

Botha was an innovative batsman

Johan Botha was a useful cricketer with both bat and ball, for his national side as well as RR in the IPL. The South African was a handy off-spinner who bowled tight lines, and had the ability to bowl both in the powerplay and at the death.

In 24 games for RR, he scored 335 runs at an average of 30.45. Botha also returned 19 wickets in these games at a miserly economy rate of 6.85. He was even a decent fielder and took 9 catches for RR in the IPL.

Although he wasn't a regular fixture in the RR playing XI, Botha put in consistent performances for the 4 years he was a part of the franchise (2009-2012). Moves to the Delhi Daredevils and the Kolkata Knight Riders didn't bear much fruit, and the all-rounder didn't even play for the Proteas after leaving RR.

After doubts over his action lingered throughout his career, Botha retired from all forms of cricket in 2019.

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#2 Siddharth Trivedi

Trivedi is RR's second-highest wicket-taker

Siddharth Trivedi is RR's second-highest wicket-taker of all time, so calling him underrated would have been a bit of a stretch were it not for the fact that he has never been close to an India cap. With 65 wickets for RR across 6 seasons, the pacer was one of the few consistent fast bowlers for the franchise over the years.

Trivedi's best performance in a Rajasthan shirt came against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2012, where he scalped the wickets of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers en-route to career-best IPL figures of 4/25.

In 2013, Trivedi was banned for 1 year for failing to report the approach of bookies and that hiatus effectively signalled the end of his career. The 37-year-old has had a decent first-class career and will go down as one of RR's most underrated players of all time.

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#3 Brad Hodge

Brad Hodge in action for RR

Among the many big-hitting Australians that the IPL has seen, Brad Hodge has undoubtedly been one of the most underrated. In 33 games for RR, the batsman scored 639 runs at a healthy average of 35.5 and a strike rate of 137.42.

Hodge's best outing for RR came in 2013 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator, where he scored an unbeaten 54 to take his team into Qualifier 2, which they lost to the eventual champions Mumbai Indians.

The 45-year-old only played 6 Tests and 25 ODIs for the Kangaroos, although he scored an unbeaten double century in the longest format of the game. The Australian went on to coach the Gujarat Lions and the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL.

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