IPL 2023: SWOT Analysis of Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Rajasthan Royals (RR) will kick off their Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) campaign on April 2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Royals finished the last season as the runners-up after impressive outings throughout the season. They won nine out of their 14 group-stage games to finish second but lost against Gujarat Titans by seven wickets in the final.

Ahead of the IPL 2023, the Sanju Samson-led side retained the core group of players and further strengthened their side with quality reinforcements. They procured the services of Jason Holder, Joe Root and Adam Zampa at the IPL 2023 player auction to fill the gaps and also signed Donovan Ferreira, Murugan Ashwin and Sandeep Sharma to strengthen their backup game. 

However, Rajasthan are having to deal with a big blow as pacer Prasidh Krishna has been ruled out of the season with an injury. The right-arm pacer, who will miss the entire 2023 season due to back stress, was the leading wicket-taker for the franchise with 19 wickets in IPL 2022. Sandeep Sharma has been called in as his replacement but the IPL veteran hasn't played any T20 cricket this year. Keeping all these points in mind, let's take an analytical overview of Rajasthan Royals ahead of IPL 2023.

Here is Rajasthan Royals' full squad for IPL 2023:

Sanju Samson (c & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa, Jason Holder, Donovan Ferreira (wk), Kunal Rathore, Adam Zampa, KM Asif, Murugan Ashwin, Akash Vashisht, Abdul PA, Joe Root, Sandeep Sharma

Rajasthan Royals Prefered XI: Jos Buttler (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Joe Root/Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c), Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal

The SWOT analysis of Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2023:

Strengths - Spin to take charge of the Royals attack

Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson stole the attention last year with the former winning the IPL Orange Cap. While the batters did power the team to some insurmountable scores, the spinners too played their role to perfection to tumble the opponents. Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin made a big impact on their debut season for Royals with a combined tally of 39 wickets.

Chahal cost them only INR 6.5 core at the IPL 2022 auction and returned with a record 27 wickets from 17 games. Ashwin bagged 12 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 7.50 and contributed 191 runs from 12 innings with a fifty against Delhi Capitals. 

Rajasthan's spin attack is further boosted by Adam Zampa and Murugan Ashwin's arrival this season. Zampa might struggle for the regular games due to restrictions on overseas slots. But, the franchise will be tempted to use the Australian spin ace on spin-friendly conditions, especially at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium, to effect a game-changing difference. 

Weaknesses - Lack of quality pacers 

Prasidh's absence has left a big hole in Rajasthan's preparation ahead of the IPL 2023. The speedster combined well with Trent Boult to produce one of the best pace attacks in the league last year. However, Boult could be seen struggling to live up to his reputation in the last few months, with just nine wickets from 10 innings in the recent ILT20 2023.

Kuldeep Sen made a considerable impact last season with eight wickets from seven innings and was later awarded a national team call-up. But apart from Kuldeep and Boult, Royals lack a quality pacer this season. Jason Holder is likely to play the role of a finisher and might not bowl all four overs while Obed McCoy is expected to warm the bench initially, following his recent recovery from injury.

Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, and Kuldip Yadav are the backup pace options but none offers a big threat. Saini took three wickets at an economy rate of 12.00 for Royals and Sandeep bagged just two from five innings for Punjab Kings last season. 

Opportunities - Kuldeep Sen could make a big impact in Prasidh Krishna's absence

Kuldeep Sen made his IPL debut last year and quickly established himself as one of the rising Indian pacers in the league. He took eight wickets from seven innings at an economy rate of 9.41 in IPL 2022 for Rajasthan Royals. He earned a national team call-up for the New Zealand tour in November 2022 and then made an ODI debut against Bangladesh in December 2022.

Playing for Madhya Pradesh, Sen took the second joint-highest wickets (18) from just six innings in the 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy. Sandeep Sharma and Navdeep Saini come with quality experiences in IPL but both have failed to make any significant impact in the last few months. Sen will be looking to take the opportunity to make a big impact and cement his place in the regular playing eleven for Royals.

Threats - Jason Holder only all-rounder; lack of finishers 

Rajasthan Royals lacked quality all-round options last year with Riyan Parag and Ravichandran Ashwin being the only regulars in the team. James Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, and Nathan Coulter-Nile made a combined five appearances last season with no big contribution and were released ahead of IPL 2023 auction.

However, they have recruited star Caribbean cricketer Jason Holder to fill the all-rounder void in the upcoming season. Rajasthan might play Holder as their fifth-choice bowling option with Prasidh Krishna out injured. Thus, Royals remain vulnerable with the lack of batting all-round options during the IPL 2023.

The lack of all-rounders also hampers Royals finishers' options with Shimron Hetmyer being the only big-hitter available this season. South African youngster Donovan Ferreira has joined the camp but is unlikely to get regular games, whereas Riyan Parag wasn't consistent in IPL 2022. So, once again the franchise will be heavily dependent on their top order for the runs.