IPL auction 2018 Rajasthan Royals: Full list of players bought by RR

Rajasthan Royals headed into the IPL auction with an almost clean slate, having retained only Steven Smith prior to the auction. They were pretty active on both days of the event, acquiring a total of 22 players.

The Royals splurged early, securing the services of Ben Stokes for INR 12.5 crore, making him the most expensive player at the auction in the process.

They also used their first RTM card on Ajinkya Rahane, snatching him away from Punjab who had outbid Mumbai in the first place.

The Royals also managed to acquire former Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper Jos Buttler for just INR 4.4 crore, a steal by all means.

They also managed to sign the stars of the Big Bash League, Jofra Archer and D'Arcy Short for reasonable amounts.

Day 2 though featured plenty of surprises. Having started off the day relatively slowly, they made a huge statement with the signing of Krishnappa Gowtham, the 29-year-old off-spinner, for a whopping INR 6.2 crore, a massive increase over his base price of INR 20 lakh.

That was just the beginning though as the Royals rocked the auction room, whisking away Jaydev Unadkat for INR 11.5 crore. While almost everyone felt RR paid way over the top for the Indian pacer, only time will tell whether he justifies his price tag or not.

The second RTM was used on veteran Indian speedster Dhawal Kulkarni, and Rajasthan also managed to secure the services of canny all-rounder Stuart Binny.

They also have a young Indian core comprising Sanju Samson and Shreyas Gopal.

A couple of smart buys late in the auction in Ben Laughlin and Dushmantha Chameera ensured the Royals came away pleased with their efforts and in full possession of a squad more than capable of lifting the trophy this time around.

Rajasthan Royals full squad

Rajasthan Royals full squad: Ben Stokes, Jaydev Unadkat, Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, K Gowtham, Jos Buttler, Rahul Tripathi, D'Arcy Short, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, Zahir Khan, Ben Laughlin, Stuart Binny, Dushmantha Chameera, Anureet Singh, Aryaman Vikram Birla, Midhun S, Shreyas Gopal, Prashant Chopra, Jatin Saxena, Ankit Sharma, Mahipal Lomror.