IPL 2020: Three Players From Rajasthan Royals Who Can Help Them Win The Title

Three Players Who Can Help Rajasthan Royals Win Trophy In IPL 2020; Rajasthan Royals, winners of the inaugural IPL season, will launch their bid for a second title on April 2nd when they meet three-time champion and last year’s runners-up Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at MA Chidambaram Stadium.

This season they will also play two of their ‘home’ matches at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati – against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Their first home match of the season will be on April 21 when they host Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Royals have had a strange journey in the IPL. In 2008, when they were one of the most unfancied sides in the tournament, but they went on to win the trophy.

Led admirably by Shane Warne, the tournament made heroes out of Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan

However, after the pressure of expectations grew, they failed to live up to the standards set by their 2008 selves.

Having endured a forgettable season in 2019, when they narrowly avoided the wooden spoon, RR, under Australia talisman Steven Smith will eye a turnaround.

Three Players Who Can Help Rajasthan Royals (RR) Win Trophy In IPL 2020:

Steven Smith:

Apart from leadership skills, Smith will be expected to come up with consistent batting efforts. He has the ability to take on the best of attacks; either side of his ban in 2018, he impressed with three fifties each in 2017 and 2019. RR would want bigger knocks from Smith this time as well.

The 2019 IPL was Smith’s first real competitive engagement since being banned by Cricket Australia (CA) for the ball-tampering allegations in March 2018.

He had missed the IPL season too that year but returned with a moderate season for the Royals.

Captaincy wasn’t given to him initially but inevitably, it returned to him at the fag end of the season.

Smith’s resurgence as a top-class Test batsman may have restricted his white-ball strokeplay a bit but he remains a dependable batsman who should be starting for RR, possibly as their number three.

It would be interesting to see how he approaches the upcoming season.

Ben Stokes:

England all-rounder Ben Stokes turned most things he touched into gold in the second half of 2019. He won the World Cup for England and then played the innings of a lifetime at Headingley to lift his side to a miraculous win in the Ashes Test.

At the start of 2020, Stokes took three wickets in 14 balls to lead England to victory over South Africa in the Newlands Test. Considering the magical form that he is in, the Royals will have high hopes from the Englishman.

The 26-year-old though has an underwhelming IPL record and hence will be under pressure to prove a point. In 2018, he scored 196 runs in 13 matches and claimed eight wickets.

There wasn’t much improvement in the 2019 edition – 123 runs in nine matches and just six wickets.

However, Stokes has been a different player before and after IPL 2019. The confidence that he has displayed in extremely tough circumstances, against all odds, has been exceptional.

Sanju Samson:

The young opening batsman of Royals will be a crucial player for Rajasthan Royals to lift the trophy. Though there are high-profile international players in the side, Sanju Samson will be the key, as he will available for the team throughout the series.

Royals always enjoyed a brilliant campaign whenever Samson bagged runs in his kitty. With Stokes and Jos Buttler set to miss the initial and final phase of the tournament, Sanju Samson will carry the onus of the team on his shoulders.

Samson continues to be one of RR’s mainstays in the middle order and given that he is an Indian, adds more value as it allows the franchise to spread the overseas players in other departments.

Samson is still in search of that one big standout IPL season that shall take his game to the next level.