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The Rajasthan Royals (RR) are one of the most unique teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They are perhaps the only side that don't rely heavily on star power, although this trend is fast changing, as is evidenced by the international superstars who are present in their IPL 2020 squad.
Apart from grooming various young Indian stars, RR have managed to acquire a number of quality overseas players even if they didn't exactly fall in the 'marquee' category.
RR's greatest overseas XI of all time in the IPL
Ignoring the IPL rule which states that each playing XI can consist of only 4 overseas players, we attempt to construct RR's greatest overseas team of all time. Due to RR's ban for two years, however, these players perhaps haven't played as many games are those in the other teams of this series.
Openers: Shane Watson, Jos Buttler (wk)
2-time MVP award winner Shane Watson is one of the IPL's greatest all-rounders of all time, so his inclusion in this all-time XI is a mere formality. One of the few overseas stars to have stayed with RR for a significant period of time, the Australian scored 2,372 runs in the 78 games he played and also picked up 61 wickets. He will play for MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2020 IPL.
Jos Buttler has been a massive success in the IPL since being promoted to the opening slot for RR. The Englishman has tallied 859 runs in 21 games at a stupendous average of 47.72, and will be one of the team's most important players in IPL 2020. He dons the gloves in this XI as well.
Middle Order: Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Brad Hodge, Johan Botha
Although Steve Smith will captain RR in IPL 2020, he does not have the honour of leading this all-time XI.
Irrespective of that, the Australian has been one of the team's most consistent performers (both individual and team bans excluded, of course), with 759 runs in 36 games at an average of 33. His incredible international form is expected to translate into another mountain of runs in this year's IPL, and the welcome return of leadership might elevate his game even further.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes' numbers don't justify his place in this XI at all, but his sheer impact and match-winning ability ensure that he makes it in anyway. In 22 games, he has managed only 319 runs and 14 wickets, and he will need to turn these poor stats around in IPL 2020. The 2019 Ashes hero is, of course, a fast-bowling all-rounder, although he isn't mentioned in that section of this article due to his batting position.
One of the most underrated RR players of all time, Brad Hodge adds enviable experience and solidity to this team's middle order. The Australian scored 639 runs in 33 games for the side, at an average of 35.5. He played crucial knocks in some of RR's most important games, but majorly flew under the radar.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Johan Botha is a far better batsman than people make him out to be, and he comes in at No. 6 in this all-time RR XI. The South African scored 335 runs in the 24 games he played for the team in the IPL, along with 19 wickets with the ball in hand. His ability to bowl in the powerplay and his vast array of cheeky shots make him the perfect candidate for this position.
Fast-bowling all-rounders: James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper
Two very similar all-rounders make up the lower middle order of this all-time RR XI.
Both James Faulkner and Kevon Cooper were out-and-out wicket-takers, and their repertoire of slower balls and cutters were utterly lethal at the death. Moreover, both fast bowlers were more than useful with the bat and had the ability to play the big shots right from the outset.
The Australian picked up 47 wickets in the 42 games he played for RR, with another 382 runs to show for with the bat. Cooper, on the other hand, recorded 33 dismissals in 25 games, although he didn't really bat high enough in the order to make an impact with the bat.
Bowlers: Shane Warne (c), Jofra Archer, Shaun Tait
RR's first-ever captain Shane Warne, who also led the team to the title in the inaugural edition of the IPL with a nail-biting win over CSK in the final, is understandably the skipper and lead spinner of this all-time XI. The Australian great adapted himself beautifully to the T20 format, and picked up 56 wickets in 55 IPL games.
This all-time RR XI is rounded off by two of the fastest bowlers of all time - Jofra Archer and Shaun Tait.
The former is still active for RR, and has picked up 26 wickets in the 21 games that he has played for the side. Archer will be the leader of RR's bowling attack in IPL 2020, alongside young Indian pacer Kartik Tyagi. Tait, on the other hand, scalped 23 wickets in the 21 games he played in the IPL for RR, although he was a tad expensive with an economy rate of 8.12.
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