Rajasthan Royals franchise has seen a roller coster ride. Their team without big names has done well. Last year the team captain was Shane Watson but they changed their team composition and were to made to pay for it. This year they have bought new two players to strengthen their bowling.

Chris Morris and Rusty Theron have been bought by Rajatshan Royals. They are also the least expensive franchise (value wise) when back in 2008 they were bought for $ 67 million. Highveld Lions pacer Chris Morris played with the Chennai Super Kings previous year. This team has bought 3 uncapped players Barinder Sandhu, Dinesh Salukne and Pradeep Sahu which no team knows about. This team can surprise any team on its day and it is a team to look for despite not having big players like the other teams have.

In this article, we analyze the Rajasthan based franchise in depth

PAST PERFORMANCES

2014:5^th

2013:3^rd

2012: 7^th

2011: 6^th

2010: 7^th

2009: 6^th

2008: 1^st

CURRENT SQUAD

Shane Watson(C), Brainder Sran, Chris Morris, Pradeep Sahu, Rajat Bhatia, Stuart Binny, Sagar Trivedi, Kevon Cooper, Ben Cutting, James Faulkner, Dinesh Saulkne, Deepak Hooda, Rusty Theron, Dhawal Kulkarni, Vikramjeet Malik, Karun Nair, Abhishek Nayar, Ajiyanke Rahane, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Tim Southee, Pravin Tambe, Rahul Tewita and Dishant Yagnik .

STRENGTH

Despite not having big players in their team they have a good blend of youngsters and experienced players. Their batting looks very good with the likes of Rahane, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Stuart Binny, Shane Watson, Kevon Cooper, James Faulkner. Their bowling also looks reasonably ok with the likes of Tim Southee, Pravin Tambe, Kevin Cooper, Rajat Bhatia, Dhawal Kulkarni, Chris Morris. It is a chance for the uncapped players to showcase their talent to the World. Last year Pravin Tambe was a brilliant pick by Rajasthan and made a name for him by performing well with the bowl. They have utility players which can perform when the team needs. They will specially benefit when Rahul Dravid will be their mentor and will teach them the ability to play under pressure. Steve Smith, Shane Watson will be vital for them if they have perform well.

WEAKNESS

They will surely miss Dravid as a player. When put under pressure they are not able to perform. Their young Indian players need to rise to the occasion and play good consistent cricket to qualify. The bowling unit does not have a quality spinner to pose challenge to opponents especially the big hitters like Gayle, De Villers and Virat Kohli. With the pitches helpful for batsmen for the first few matches the bowlers of Rajasthan will be under fire.

OPPORTUNITY

The chance for Rajasthan Royals is to start on a fresh note and win the first few matches which will be important for their fortunes. It is great chance for the inform players like Steve Smith, Tim Southee, Shane Watson, James Faulkner to transform their World Cup form into this event. It is also a chance for the uncapped Indian players to make a name for them and play with positive attitude. Sanju Samson did well in the previous season and it is a chance for him to score big runs, get a chance for selection in the Indian team. This team has no big names in the team but they gel well as a unit and does not fear to lose and learns from their mistake. The domestic players Karun Nair, Dhawal Kulkarni have done well in Ranji Trophy but it is time to stake a claim in team with a good show. It will be a chance for Watson to showcase his captaincy skills.

THREAT

They need to get their combination right that suits the nature of the pitch. At times they pick the wrong players and they had to pay big time last year. When they had to defend 190 in 14.4 overs they failed to restrict Mumbai Indians and were knocked out of the tournament. The mental aspect they need to up for the battle. The uncapped Indian players must be up to the challenge and need to be perform, and not get frightened by the big stage and play with the international names.

FIXTURES