IPL 2023 Rajasthan Royals: Rajasthan Royals entered the IPL 2008 season as underdogs, with media and critics giving them faint chances of winning. However, the team, led by legendary Shane Warne, upset Mumbai Indians in the semi-final and Chennai Super Kings in the final to clinch the inaugural trophy. Australia’s Shane Watson played the key role in the team’s success with 472 runs and 17 wickets and helped Rajasthan win 13 matches out of 16 in the tournament.
The team would never show similar glimpses of brilliance in IPL, and barring in 2013, when they won 11 out of 18 matches and also reached the Champions T20 final, the team stayed off the radar for most of years. They had a lacklustre show in 2021 with just five wins in 14 matches, but they came off with flying colours in IPL 2022 and were on the verge of winning the title before Gujarat Titans dashed their hopes.
5. KM Asif (INR 30 Lakh)
Hyderabad: Kerala pacer K M Asif made his debut for Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening match of IPL 2023 here on Sunday. Asif, who opened the bowling along with Kiwi pacer Trent Boult, gave away only 15 runs from his three overs as Royals began their campaign with a thumping win.
Asif was released by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the auction last year. The 29-year-old played three matches for CSK in the IPL and picked up four wickets.
4. Donovan Ferreira (INR 50 Lakh)
Donovan Ferreira has grabbed everyone’s attention with his phenomenal performance on debut for the Jo’burg Super Kings in SA20 2023. Playing against Durban’s Super Giants, Donovan scored a match-winning 40-ball 82* after coming out to bat when the team’s scorecard read 27/4.
He stitched up a 72-run fifth-wicket partnership with skipper Faf du Plessis before a quickfire 87-run sixth-wicket stand with all-rounder Romario Shepherd. Ferreira’s knock consisted of eight fours and five sixes. He batted at a fantastic strike rate of 205.
3. Joe Root (INR 1 Crore)
Ace England batter Joe Root will play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he found a bidder in the closing moments of the IPL 2023 auction. The right-handed batter, who set his base price at INR 1 crore, found a buyer in the Rajasthan Royals after going unsold earlier in the day.
In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Root expressed his interest in entering the IPL auction and feels the tournament will enable him to flourish in the shortest format moving forward.
2. Adam Zampa (INR 1.5 Crore)
The Royals bought the Aussie leg-spinner for ₹1.5 crores at the 2023 IPL auction. His previous IPL experience includes playing for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants (2016 and 2017 season) and then for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2020 campaign. He has a played a total of 14 games, picking up 21 wickets at an economy rate of 7.73.
Overall, the 30-year-old has scalped 269 wickets in 232 T20s at an economy rate of 7.29. The leg-spinner recently scalped four wickets in the three-match ODI series decider against the Men in Blue, which the Aussies won by 21 runs.
1. Jason Holder (INR 5.75 Crore)
West Indian all-rounder, Jason Holder has been bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 5.75 crore in the ongoing IPL auction 2023. Holder made his IPL debut with Chennai Super Kings in 2013, but he might not have any fond memories from that season, having scalped only a couple of wickets in his six appearances.
After hardly receiving any opportunities whilst representing Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders over the next few seasons, it is only in IPL 2020 that the former West Indies skipper announced himself in the competition.