CHENNAI: On Sunday afternoon, Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson, on his Instagram handle, uploaded a photo with his new teammates Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and their development & performance director Zubin Bharucha in their team bus with a caption that read: “D Back Benchers” with a smiling emoji.
It was perhaps a fitting description of where the team stood at the end of the last three seasons. Seventh in 2019, eighth in 2020 and seventh in 2021. Barring the last season, going into their last league match, they were in with a chance to make it to the play-offs stage. Invariably, they fell short each time. In the 2018 season, when they made a comeback after a two-year suspension, they made it to the play-offs, but only to field a weakened team after Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes left for national duty. That is the closest they have come to a title since their return.
This year they have learnt from their past mistakes and managed to put together a balanced squad on paper. For a team that was overly reliant on overseas players, they now have a strong Indian core in Samson, Ashwin, Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna and Yashasvi Jaiswal to complement Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, Shimon Hetmyer and Nathan Coulter-Nile who are expected to be their first-choice overseas players in the XI. That makes for a strong team with one among Karun Nair and Riyan Parag in contention for the one remaining slot.
Ahead of the first match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune, it came as no surprise that Samson sounded bullish. “We definitely had a lot of learning from the last 2-3 seasons. We discussed and worked on a few options and we got a really very good team in the auction. Our main focus is to get together as soon as possible. We have a different squad this time, some new members in the team, so it is important to come together and understand your teammates,” Samson said.
Rajasthan, thanks to some of their picks, have been able to blend a good mix of Indian and overseas players. With a top-five consisting of Padikkal, Jaiswal, Buttler, Samson and Hetmyer, they have enough ammunition to annihilate any team with the bat.
With the exception of Padikkal, who is a lot more text-book oriented, the rest have the wherewithal that is suited to T20, and one which will allow Royals to bat in the top gear at all times if required. In a way, the batting unit complements the style of play their captain Samson plays. On odd days they can fire duds, but if they click, they would be hard to stop, especially given the left-right combination.
“I think this format has to be played with a fearless mindset and that sort of characters are there in this team this year. So we would just like to go out there and express ourselves. You can't have second thoughts in this format and there is a reason why everyone loves this format because you have the freedom to go out and enjoy the batting. So we will be doing the same,” Samson said.
With Boult to cause damage with the new ball and Prasidh and Coutler-Nile in the mix and two quality spinners in Ashwin and Chahal, Samson also has variety with the ball. The need for a sixth bowling option may see them go for Garg over Karun. “We have a lot of Indian and international strength in our team. It's a very long tournament. We need to understand the mindset and the fitness and form of all players. But we have enough options to play around,” Samson said.