5 Worst Signings By Rajasthan Royals (RR) In IPL History

Rajasthan Royals was a dominant team in the debut edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008. The franchise, which was then led by Shane Warne, won the trophy after defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final. However, their performances have not been up to the mark since then. After emerging as champions in the first edition, the franchise made it to the playoffs only once in the 2013 edition.

In the last two seasons IPL 2019 and IPL 2020, the franchise finished on the 7th and 8th spot respectively. In the 2021 edition, they held the 5th spot on the points table with 3 wins and 4 losses before the tournament was postponed.

Rajasthan Royals comprise few powerful overseas players like Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Chris Morris, and David Millers in the current squad.

Among the domestic players, Sanju Samson, Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat, and Shreyas Gopal are some popular names who are part of the franchise.

The franchise has observed a series of poor shows in the past seasons and in spite of signing some expensive deals, some players did not come up with powerful performances. In this listicle, we take a glance at the 5 worst singings by Rajasthan Royals in IPL history.

5 Worst Signings By Rajasthan Royals (RR) In IPL History

Robin Uthappa- IPL 2020

Rajasthan Royals bought Robin Uthappa for Rs. 3 crores during IPL 2020 auction. Although the wicketkeeper-batsman has had many successful seasons in IPL in the past, he could not execute an amazing batting show for RR in the 2020 season.

He could pile up only 196 runs in 12 games at an average of 16.33. The right-handed batsman also failed to hit a fifty in any of the matches and owned an average strike rate of 119+.  After the conclusion of the season, the franchise traded Uthappa to Chennai Super Kings.

Oshane Thomas (IPL 2019)

Rajasthan Royals bought West Indies pacer, Oshane Thomas, for Rs. 1.10 crore during IPL 2019 auction. However, the deal did not emerge to be worthy. The right-arm pacer managed to pick only 5 wickets in 4 games at an average of 7.90.

He was also not allowed to complete his 4-overs spell in few games and could only bowl 10 overs in 4 matches. Later, the Caribbean pacer was benched for the rest of the 10 matches in the season.

Dhawal Kulkarni  (IPL 2018)

Rajasthan Royals picked Dhawal Kulkarni in IPL 2018 by using the RTM (Right to Match) card. The right-arm bowler was initially picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs. 75 lakh, but RR used RTM to get the player back in their squad.

However, the deal was not fruitful as the medium-pacer picked just 4 wickets in 8 matches. His economy rate was also expensive at 9.47. The franchise benched him for the 7 others matches during the season.

D’Arcy Short (IPL 2018)

D’Arcy Short is another player in this list. The Australian all-rounder was picked by Rajasthan Royals for Rs. 4 crores during the IPL 2018 auction, against his base price of Rs. 20 lakh. The left-handed batsman could only score 115 runs in 7 matches at an average of 16.42 and a strike rate of 166+.

The left-arm spinner also picked just 1 wicket in the two matches he bowled. Therefore, the 4-crore deal for the Aussie player in IPL 2018 totally went in vain. D’Arcy Short was also released by the franchise after the IPL 2018 season.

Tim Southee (IPL 2014)

Rajasthan Royals shelled out Rs. 1.2 crore for New Zealand pacer Tim Southee during IPL 2014 auction. However, the deal did not emerge beneficial for the team. After Southee remained wicketless in the 3 matches, the franchise had to bench him for the rest of the season.

In the 3 matches, Southee bowled 10 overs conceding 76 runs and failed to pick even a single wicket. Hence, the deal did not emerge to be useful for the franchise.