Rajasthan Royals: IPL 2025 Preview

Where they finished last year

Rajasthan Royals were all set for a top-two finish after winning eight of their first nine games. However, a decline in form in the business end of the group stage of IPL 2024 saw them end in third place. After winning the Eliminator, they fell short against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2.

What’s new in 2025

RR might be onto something very few teams have tried implementing over the past so many IPL seasons – possessing an Indian-heavy top order. Shimron Hetmyer is their only overseas batter. They went after Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and Tushar Deshpande at the auction; a solid bowling attack, each individual possessing a diverse skill set.

They also purchased the 13-year-old left-handed Vaibhav Suryavanshi at the mega auction in November 2024. With that, the budding youngster became the youngest player to land an IPL contract. The franchise has gone ahead with a fresh set of coaching staff. Rahul Dravid and Vikram Rathour have been appointed the roles of head coach and batting coach, respectively. Other than them, Sairaj Bahutule comes in as their spin-bowling coach.

Watch out for

Archer will be one of the few players to keep an eye on. He will be returning to RR after almost half a decade and an injury-free 2024. The left-arm pace of Fazalhaq Farooqi and Kwena Maphaka promises to be an intriguing prospect too. Riyan Parag’s sixth season with RR (IPL 2024) was when he came to the party. It will be interesting to how he carries his 573-season on his back come IPL 2025.

Full squad

Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Sandeep Sharma, Jofra Archer, Wainindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Nitish Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Charak, Fazal Farooqi, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Kwena Maphaka, Kunal Rathore, Ashok Sharma

Probable XII

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Akash Madhwal, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana/Fazalhaq Farooqi, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande