The countdown to IPL 2020 has started. The IPL being postponed and many other obstacles due to the COVID-19 pandemic has made the tournament even more exciting.

Today we take a closer look at probably the ‘dark horse’ of the entire IPL, the season one champions, Rajasthan Royals. The Royals finished 7th out of the eight teams last year. This year, however, the management has taken a few major decisions which could completely change the course of the team.

History

We take a quick little trip back to memory lane before focusing on the upcoming season. Royals, as the name suggests, have featured some great players namely Shane Warne, Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, Graeme Smith, and many more. The team started off as underdogs in season one back in 2008. Against the odds, they shocked the world by winning season one of the IPL under the captaincy of Shane Warne.

The Royals, however, have struggled to make the same impact ever since. They have mostly been in the bottom tier of the table. The team wasn’t active been 2015-2017 due to the infamous spot-fixing allegations. Here how they placed during the past 12 years.

2008: Champions

2009: 6th place

2010: 7th place

2011: 6th place

2012: 7th place

2013: 3rd place

2014: 7th place

2018: 4th place

2019: 7th place

Squad for IPL 2020

Steve Smith (captain), Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Yashasvi Jaiswal, David Miller, Aniruddha Joshi, Ben Stokes, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Robin Uthappa, Anuj Rawat, Shreyas Gopal, Shashank Singh, Rahul Tewatia, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Ankit Rajpoot, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Tom Curran, Oshane Thomas, Akash Singh.

How will they perform in IPL 2020?

BATTING – The management has made some radical changes in the team management that have made it more T20 specific. The team has let off with long-time opener Ajinkya Rahane. Even though Rahane played extremely well over the years, the overall strike rate has always been an issue for him. They will have the services of an experienced Robin Uthappa and IPL tested Manan Vohra to fill that spot. However, many believe the currently highly regarded Yashasvi Jaiswal may get the nod as well. They will accompany the hard-hitting opener, Jos Buttler, with captain Steve Smith at number three.

The middle-order will comprise of Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, and the X-factor Riyan Parag. The Royals have had some issue with deciding the position for Samson, however, with openers fixed, he can operate in the middle order.

BOWLING – The bowling order, on the other hand, comprises of leg-spinners Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia. Both of them have shown potential with the bat as well. Also, they will have the services of mystery spinner Mayank Markande. Royals have opted for many T20 specific seam bowling options like Tom Curran, Jaydev Unadkat, and Andrew Tye. The attack will be led by Jofra Archer.

Some weaknesses being the Royals don’t have a lot of variety and experience in spin bowling. With the IPL being in UAE, spin will play an important role. Also, all the responsibility will be on Jofra Archer to provide wickets in the powerplay. Other bowler being known mostly for variations, will come into play later on in the innings.

However, overall with such massive changes, Royals look really good to get above the lower tier of the table. They will have to iron the loopholes as the season progresses.

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