Ever since the Indian premier league got established, Rajasthan Royals have been termed as the famous “Dark Horses” during the whole tournament. Although they have always placed a team with not so “ Big names” and full of Young local talent, they have always found themselves in the list of Top 4 teams of the tournament most of the times. Even if we talk about IPL 2018, the team was playing under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane after their Marquee player Steven smith got banned before the commencement of the tournament.
Although they were been able to qualify for the playoffs this time as well, the team never looked in fine touch after their Talisman and top performer Jos butler left for his National Duties. While 2018 is almost gone and everyone is eyeing the IPL 2019, let’s take a look at 5 players which Rajasthan Royals must look out for in the IPL 2019.
#1 Hashim Amla (South Africa)
T20 International Record-1277 runs in 44 matches at an average of 33.61
One of the biggest issues which Rajasthan Royals did come through in the IPL 2018 was their Opening Slot and although Jos Butler did come up quite well for the challenge with a number of brilliant performances at the top order, he didn’t actually found a partner to support him in the process. Hashim Amla is that one player who can fit in exactly to the role as he is someone who can play in cool and calm mode while attacking at the same time.
He was the player who amassed more than 400 runs for the Punjab team in IPL 2017 with two centuries but was still not been retained by them in the IPL 2018 auction. This was something which surprised every cricket fan and even the experts claimed it as a shocker. Nevertheless, Rajasthan Royals can cash into the opportunity to fill in the void in their Opening Slot in order to put on some serious challenge towards their opponents in the IPL 2019.
#2 Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka)
T20 International Record-1077 runs in 75 matches with 50 wickets
There are many Cricket experts who might regard Thisara Perera as an Old horse but this can’t really deny the fact about how lethal he can be for the opposite team on a given day. Although this player was already playing in the IPL for the Pune team in the 2017 season, he went unsold in the auction for the IPL 2018.
On the other hand ,Rajasthan Royals are really struggling for a genuine all-rounder in their team and even if we talk about the last season, there was hardly any player who rose up to the occasion as an all-rounder for them. Stuart binny was a complete Disappointment while Krishnappa gowtham didn’t really capitalize to his performance which came in bits and pieces. This is something which Perera can work up to as he can Bowl around those different Variations at the death while being an explosive batsman down the order. Hence, a “Must have “player for RR to go for the IPL 2019.
#3 Jason Holder (West Indies)
T20 International Record-42 runs in 8 matches with 7 wickets
While we are talking about the All-rounder woes of Rajasthan Royals, we already did discuss about the fact that no player from their current squad actually worked well for them as an all-rounder during the whole season. Jason Holder could be that one name which can come up quite well for the Royals for their contention for the IPL 2019.
Not only Holder is the current captain of the West Indies team, he has impressed everyone with his performances with bat and ball in the International arena in the past few months. Although most of the experts did argue his role in the West Indies team as a no. 7 player, he has cemented his place for the national team in all the three formats with equal perfection. Holder can perform the role of a strike bowler for the Royals team upfront while clearing the boundaries with utmost ease with his batting alongside. Therefore, Royals really need to give it a go in the upcoming auction for the next year’s IPL and target this Windies player with everything they can.
#4 Moises Henriques (Australia)
T20 International Record-159 runs in 11 matches with 4 wickets
Moises Henriques was one of the most crucial players for the team Sunrisers Hyderabad in the season 2017 and he along with Captain David Warner were regarded the supporting powers to drive their team’s batting in their most crucial matches. Although he must have expected that the team would be retaining him for sure for the 2018 IPL as well, but SRH left everyone, including him , stunned by their move of not picking him in the auction.
If we talk about his role as a Rajasthan Royals player, he can come up as a great option being a third bowler for the team while coming down at any order for the batting purpose. Moreover, he can solve the biggest problem for Rajasthan Royals in the Opening Slot department as he also used to play in the same slot for his Local team Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League.
#5 Qais Ahmed (Afghanistan)
T20 International Record- NA
With the likes of Rashid khan, Mohammed Nabi and Mujeeb –ur-Rehman making it big on the International Arena in the past few months, Afghanistan has produced another Spinning sensation in the name of Qais Ahmed. Ahmed came into the picture while picking up the 17 wickets in the U-19 world cup and emerging as the highest wicket taker in the tournament along with India’s Anukul Roy.
He even earned a spot in the Caribbean premier league while playing alongside with the likes of David Warner and Darren Sammy and impressed everyone with his brilliant spells of leg spin bowling which saw him scalping 3 wickets in his first ever match alongside the famous International stars. Even in the recently concluded Afghanistan Premier league, he has proved his mettle by grabbing 4 wickets in the finals and making his team put their hands on the Trophy.
On the other hand, if we talk about his role in the Rajasthan Royals, he can solve their spin bowling woes for a long time coming along with the Leggie Shreyas Gopal. While every other team is coming along with a spinner as their “X factor” (Naraine for KKR, Rashid for SRH, Markande for MI),Qais ahmed could be Rajasthan royal’s answer to the same question with full impact.
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