Jaipur-based The Rajasthan Royals team (also known as the RR) are a franchise cricket team that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team’s home stadium is Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium, where it was established in 2008 as one of the league’s original eight teams.
As well as being known for uncovering hidden, high-potential talent, the Royals have also been implicated in many scandals and controversies.
Content
- ABOUT THE IPL
- FRANCHISE HISTORY
- CONTROVERSIES
- HOME TURF
- THE TEAM
- CURRENT SQUAD
- ADMINISTRATION AND SUPPORT STAFF
- TEAM PERFORMANCE
- KIT MANUFACTURERS AND SPONSERS
- STATISTICS
- BRAND VALUEÂ
The Indian Premier League (IPL)
The Indian Premier Competition (IPL) is a professional men’s Twenty20 cricket league played in 10 Indian cities by ten clubs. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) established the league in 2007.
It is typically held between March and May of each year and has an exclusive slot in the ICC Future Tours Programme. The IPL is the world’s most-attended cricket league, ranking sixth in average attendance among all sports leagues in 2014.
Franchise History
In September 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the creation of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a Twenty20 tournament that would begin in 2008. Founded in 2008, the Indian Premier League (IPL) was made up of eight clubs.
With a bid of $67 million, Emerging Media purchased the Jaipur franchise club, making it the league’s least costly team. Manoj Badale’s Emerging Media IPL Ltd holds a 65 percent stake in the franchise as of 2021.
Lachlan Murdoch and Redbird Capital Partners are two important minority shareholders. The squad was briefly expelled from the league in 2010 due to a dispute over the ownership of the organization. In 2009, the franchise produced a $7.5 million profit before taxes.
Controversies
The BCCI banned Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals team from the IPL in 2010. The dismissal puzzled skipper Shane Warne, who suspected foul play and claimed the BCCI had ulterior motivations.
The Rajasthan Royals team appealed the verdict, and the case was heard by the Mumbai High Court. To avoid conflicting with Diwali festivals from 1–14 November, the Mumbai High Court delayed the case until October 29th, 2010.
The Royals then declared that they would be consulting with an arbitrator to see if they could reconcile with the IPL. The arbitrator ruled that the Royals would be permitted to play in the IPL for six weeks while the probe was underway.
The six-week period featured the Rajasthan Royals’ player auction. The Bombay High Court then dismissed the BCCI’s petitions to retain the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL for six weeks until the dispute was resolved.
The BCCI decided not to take further legal action against the Rajasthan Royals team or Kings XI Punjab due to financial and reputational damages; the teams were permitted to continue in the IPL.
In 2015, they were forbidden
The squad was suspended for two years in 2015 after the Lodha Committee investigation. When Rajasthan Royals made fake and unsuitable offers in violation of BCCI rules, they became a cause of concern.
Until then, the BCCI had no idea that Ranjit Barthakur and Fraser Castellino were the sole owners of the franchise. They reached a deal out of court. The BCCI suspended Rajasthan Royals for two years in 2015, and their owner, Raj Kundra, was banned for life as a result.
Home Turf
The Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur serves as the Royals’ home field. Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II erected the stadium during his reign. It may be found at the Rambagh Circle’s far southwest corner. After a major restoration in 2006, the stadium has a capacity of 30,000 and is among the finest in India.
The Rajasthan Royals played their home games at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Patel Stadium. It was announced that the Sawai Mansingh Venue in Jaipur would host the Rajasthan Royals’ home games in the 2018 IPL season, after the team was suspended for two years in 2015 and the stadium was barred from hosting matches for four years.
The Team
The Rajasthan Royals have a history of acquiring unknown or uncapped players at bargain costs. The Royals are known for their cautious spending in IPL auctions, especially during the triennial mega-auctions.
They also purchased players like Dinesh Salunkhe and Pravin Tambe, who had never played first-class cricket. Shane Warne, Graeme Smith, Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, and Shane Watson have all been bought by the franchise at different periods in their history.
Many of the Royals’ cricketers have gone on to play for the national team, mainly owing to their success in the IPL and the Royals’ management’s support. Among the early players were Taruwar Kohli, acquired by the franchise in 2008 under the Under-19 player quota, and Yusuf Pathan, the elder brother of Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, and a relative unknown in cricket circles.
Yusuf’s outstanding achievements in the first IPL seasons earned him a berth in the Indian cricket team that won the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Even the Royals’ first player, Australian Shane Watson, became a permanent, consistent, and leading member of the Australian cricket team soon after his brilliant 2008 season with the Royals.
Later seasons saw the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Tambe, Stuart Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni, James Faulkner, Steve Smith, and Tim Southee join the Royals’ ranks. Even Ajit Chandila, who only played two first-class matches and was convicted in the spot-fixing scandal, was a key Royals bowler in 2012 and 2013.
Current squad
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Year signed | Notes |
| Captain | |||||||
| 11 | Sanju Samson |  India | 11 November 1994 (age 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm off-spin | 2018 |  |
| Batters | |||||||
| 19 | Yashasvi Jaiswal |  India | 28 December 2001 (age 20) | Left-handed | Right-arm leg break | 2020 |  |
| 69 | Karun Nair |  India | 6 December 1991 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2022 |  |
| 189 | Shimron Hetmyer |  West Indies | 26 December 1996 (age 25) | Left-handed |  | 2022 | Overseas |
|  | Rassie van der Dussen |  South Africa | 7 February 1989 (age 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | 2022 | Overseas |
| 37 | Devdutt Padikkal |  India | 7 July 2000 (age 21) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | 2022 |  |
| All-rounders | |||||||
| 5 | Riyan Parag |  India | 10 November 2001 (age 20) | Right-handed | Leg break | 2022 |  |
| 7 | Nathan Coulter-Nile |  Australia | 11 October 1987 (age 34) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 | Overseas |
| 50 | Jimmy Neesham |  New Zealand | 17 September 1990 (age 31) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 | Overseas |
| 47 | Daryl Mitchell |  New Zealand | 20 May 1991 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 | Overseas |
| 99 | Ravichandran Ashwin |  India | 17 September 1986 (age 35) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2022 |  |
| 6 | Shubham Garhwal |  India | 14 May 1995 (age 26) | Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox | 2022 |  |
| 13 | Anunay Singh |  India | 3 January 1993 (age 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 |  |
| Wicket-keepers | |||||||
| 63 | Jos Buttler |  England | 8 September 1990 (age 31) | Right-handed | – | 2018 | Overseas |
| 21 | Dhruv Jurel |  India | 21 January 2001 (age 21) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 |  |
| Spin bowlers | |||||||
| 3 | Yuzvendra Chahal |  India | 23 July 1990 (age 31) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | 2022 |  |
| 94 | K. C. Cariappa |  India | 13 April 1994 (age 27) | Right-handed | Leg break | 2022 |  |
| 9 | Tejas Baroka |  India | 1 February 1996 (age 26) | Right-handed | Leg break googly | 2022 |  |
| Pace bowlers | |||||||
| 22 | Kuldeep Sen |  India | 22 October 1996 (age 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 |  |
| 15 | Kuldip Yadav |  India | 15 October 1996 (age 25) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | 2022 |  |
|  | Obed McCoy |  West Indies | 4 January 1997 (age 25) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | 2022 | Overseas |
| 96 | Navdeep Saini |  India | 23 November 1992 (age 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 |  |
| 24 | Prasidh Krishna |  India | 19 February 1996 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 |  |
| 18 | Trent Boult |  New Zealand | 22 July 1989 (age 32) | Right-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | 2022 | Overseas |
Staff for administration and support
| Position | Name |
| Owners | Manoj Badale (65%), Redbird Capital Partners (15%), Lachlan Murdoch (13%) |
| COO | Jake Lush McCrum |
| CEO | Mike Fordham |
| Team Manager | Romi Bhinder |
| Director of Cricket |  Kumar Sangakkara |
| Development and performance director |  Zubin Bharucha |
| Assistant coach |  Trevor Penney |
| Batting coach |  Amol Mazumdar |
| Spin bowling coach |  Sairaj Bahutule |
| Fast bowling coach |  Lasith Malinga |
| Fielding coach |  Dishant Yagnik |
| High-performance fast-bowling coach |  Steffan Jones |
| Team Catalyst |  Paddy Upton |
| Head of Academy Coaching |  Siddartha Lahiri |
Team Performance
| Year | League table standing | Final position |
| 2008 | 1st out of 8 | Champions |
| 2009 | 6th out of 8 | Group stage |
| 2010 | 7th out of 8 | Group stage |
| 2011 | 6th out of 10 | Group stage |
| 2012 | 7th out of 9 | Group stage |
| 2013 | 3rd out of 9 | Playoffs |
| 2014 | 5th out of 8 | Group stage |
| 2015 | 4th out of 8 | Playoffs |
| 2018 | 4th out of 8 | Playoffs |
| 2019 | 7th out of 8 | Group stage |
| 2020 | 8th out of 8 | Group stage |
| 2021 | 7th out of 8 | Group stage |
Kit Manufacturers and Sponsors
| Year | Kit manufacturers | Shirt sponsor (chest) | Shirt sponsor (back) | Chest sponsor |
| 2008 | Reebok | Bajaj Allianz | Royal Challenge | Reebok |
| 2009 | Puma | UltraTech Cement | HDFC Life | 7up |
| 2010 | Moov | |||
| 2011 | Floriana | Supertech | ||
| 2012 | UltraTech Cement | |||
| 2013 | Rupa | |||
| 2014Â | ||||
| 2015 | Provogue | Lawman Pg3 | ||
| 2018 | TYKA | JK Lakshmi Cement | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | KEI |
| 2019 | Alcis | Surya LED | ||
| 2020 | TV9 Bharatvarsh | Niine | ||
| 2021Â | Expo 2020Â | BKTÂ | ||
| 2022 | Happilo | Dollar |
Statistics
As of this writing, the Rajasthan Royals have competed in 178 matches, with an overall record of 86 victories and 87 losses. In addition, five of those were deemed inoperable. Over the course of the last 14 IPL seasons, they have a winning percentage of 48.3%.
Brand Value
In 2021, the Rajasthan Royals’ brand value is expected to be about 34 million U.S. dollars. When compared to the prior year, this is a reduction. Since the inaugural season of the IPL, which took place in 2009, the IPL brand has grown by an incredible 134 percent.
Published by – Kiruthiga K
Edited by – Kritika Kashyap
