IPL Auctions 2018: Rajasthan Royals (RR) performance at the auctions

The much-hyped IPL auctions finally came to an end today. 578 players were in the mix for 182 spots in the various teams, and 169 players were bought – 113 Indians and 56 overseas.

However, here the focus is one of the two teams making their comeback, the Rajasthan Royals. A team generally not known to splurge (they were called the Moneyball team), they changed that image completely this time around. The RR think-tank went hard at some of the big players. Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Jaydev Unadkat and Krishnappa Gowtham are some of the players for whom the Royals broke the bank.

Let’s take a look at how they fared at the auctions in their comeback year.

How they fared on Day 1

The Rajasthan Royals think-tank started off on a very bright note as they managed to scalp Ben Stokes for 12.5 crores. Ajinkya Rahane and Jos Buttler were absolute steals at 4 and 4.4 crores respectively. They went after a couple of Big Bash stars – Jofra Archer and D'Arcy Short. Sanju Samson was taken for 8 crores as he returned to the franchise he started his IPL career with. Stuart Binny and Rahul Tripathi were the other Indians who were bought by the Royals.

RR break the bank for Indian bowlers

Unadkat was bought for 11.5 crores

With 23.5 crores at the start of Day 2, Rajasthan Royals had the biggest purse among all the 8 teams. Since they had gone after a few explosive batsmen and allrounders on the first day, they needed to beef up their bowling on Day 2.

RR were involved in a bidding war with RCB for the 29-year-old Karnataka off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham. In the end, it was RR who won the bid and the offspinner was given 6.2 crores. Even though it might seem like a big amount, Gowtham is one of the most promising spinners going around in the domestic circuit in India. He was the highest wicket-taker for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy this season (34 wickets in 8 games). Also, he can be a handy lower-order batsman.

One of the biggest talking points of the day was the signing of left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat. Rajasthan Royals broke the bank to obtain the services of the Saurashtra pacer. Given the IPL season he had last year and the form he’s shown this year in domestic cricket, he was going to attract the attention of a lot of teams. However, nobody would’ve expected him to go for over 10 crores. Rajasthan needed a good Indian seamer, though, and Unadkat is one of the best T20 bowlers going around in the country.

Rajasthan also managed to get back Dhawal Kulkarni (who played for them in 2015) using their RTM for 50 lakhs. Thus, Kulkarni along with Unadkat will be the Indian seamers leading the RR attack. The Royals then bought a couple of uncapped bowlers – Ankit Sharma (left-arm offspinner) and Anureet Singh (right-arm pacer), both of whom have played the IPL before.

Another steal was Shreyas Gopal. He was bought for 20 lakhs (his base price). It was surprising to see that no other team went for the Karnataka leggie. Like his Karnataka teammate, Gopal has been a regular member for his state-side (in domestic cricket) over the past few years. He has also been in good form. Thus, his signing is a good one.

The Royals then bought Zahir Khan, a Chinaman spinner from Afghanistan. He became the 4th Afghanistan player to be bought in this auction. He performed really well in the Shpageeza T20 League (Afghanistan’s domestic T20 league) and is currently playing for Afghanistan in the Under-19 World Cup.

Prashant Chopra, who hit the first triple hundred of this year’s first-class season in India, was also bought by RR for his base price (20 lakhs). Ben Laughlin, the Australian pacer who has been doing well in the ongoing Big Bash League, also found a place in RR’s squad as he was scalped at his base price.

Krishnappa Gowtham was given 6.2 crores

What does the squad look like?

After buying 8 players on day 1, RR went ahead and completed their squad, with 23 players in all. As many as three players were bought for over 11 crores (Steve Smith - retained, Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat). Also, they bought the two most expensive players in the auction.

Steve Smith – 15 crore (retained), Ben Stokes – 12.5 crore, Ajinkya Rahane – 4 crore (RTM), Stuart Binny – 50 lakh, Jos Buttler – 4.4 crore, Sanju Samson – 8 crore, Rahul Tripathi – 3.4 crore, D'Arcy Short - 4 cr, Jofra Archer - 7.2 crore, K Gowtham – 6.2 crore, Dhawal Kulkarni – 50 lakh (RTM), Jaydev Unadkat – 11.5 crore, Ankit Sharma – 20 lakh, Anureet Singh – 30 lakh, Zahir Khan – 60 lakh, Shreyas Gopal – 20 lakh, Prashant Chopra – 20 lakh, Ben Laughlin – 50 lakh, S Midhun – 20 lakh, Mahipal Lomror – 20 lakh, Jatin Saxena – 20 lakh, Aryaman Vikram Birla – 30 lakh, Dushmantha Chameera - 50 lakh

Analysis

The retention of Steven Smith was a no-brainer, and this was the case with Ajinkya Rahane as well on whom they had the Right to Match (RTM) card. Stokes, Buttler and Jofra Archer are T20 specialists and match-winners in their own right. Samson and Tripathi are good attacking Indian batsmen. D’Arcy Short is another explosive batsman. So, the batting looks very good.

The bowling is slightly on the weaker side, but they have some utility players there. Unadkat is one of the best death bowlers going around, Kulkarni has done well in domestic cricket and the Karnataka spinners – Gowtham and Gopal - are good options to have in the spin department. Laughlin can be their other death bowler along with Unadkat. Prashant Chopra, Anureet Singh and Ankit Sharma are decent backup options.

Also, there are a few unknown names in the list - S Midhun, Jatin Saxena and Aryaman Vikram Birla and it will be interesting to see how they will be used in the tournament.

Thus, Rajasthan Royals look good on paper. The batting looks strong and RR will look at some of their star players to deliver.