Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey

Rajasthan Royals: Underperformers or Exceeded Expectations? | Have Rajasthan Royals underachieved in IPL? IPL Analysis | Will RR win IPL 2020?

They won the first-ever IPL when no one even thought that they’ll qualify for play-offs. It formed the beginning of quite an interesting journey that Rajasthan Royals have had in the IPL.

Here, it’s time to talk about their journey and their performance in the league. Have Rajasthan Royals underperformed or have they performed better than expectations?

The Journey: A bright start

2008 was like a dream for the Royals. They appointed Shane Warne as their Icon Player and Coach in the inaugural season of the IPL, when every team was going for big, Indian names like Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag. Management had a vision, reflective in their picks in the auction, and it paid off.

Rajasthan, known for giving a chance to the youngsters, had a very young and inexperienced squad. Skipper Shane Warne, Graeme Smith, Mohammad Kaif, Sohail Tanvir, and Shane Watson were the only well-known names in the side.

Warne, just like his bowling, produced magic with that team, going on to win the first IPL Title, defeating the mighty CSK in the Final. Young players like Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Siddharth Trivedi and Munaf Patel contributed significantly in the team’s success.

The Journey: A rocky sequel

However, after such a dream opening season, Rajasthan saw a significant dip in their form. They have played nine seasons since, qualifying for the playoffs just three times (2013, 2015 & 2018), finishing sixth or seventh on five occasions. More, they have not appeared in the Final since 2008, despite having better squads compared to that season.

They performed particuarly poorly during the 2010-2012 seasons, finishing twice in seventh and once in sixth. This is despite boasting players like Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Rahul Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane, Johan Botha, Shaun Tait and Owais Shah.

An underachievement.

But, they improved in 2013-2015, qualifying for the playoffs twice. The only time they missed the playoffs during this period was in 2014, falling short against Mumbai Indians in one of the best T20 games. They also had a close miss against Mumbai in 2013, finishing runners up in the CLT20 tournament. Players like Binny, Samson and Cooper performed well with Watson, Rahane, Faulkner and Hodge.

So, RR had a very strong squad during that time, of which they could look to build on.

The Journey: The rockiest part and return

But, the worst followed. The spot-fixing incident. Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two seasons, along with Chennai Super Kings.

So, when the time came for their return, how would they cope?

They returned in 2018-19 with arguably their best squad ever. Players such as Jos Buttler, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Ajinkya Rahane with youngsters like Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Krishnappa Gowtham made for a fine team.

As has been the case in the past, though, they didn’t perform the way they would’ve liked.

The Journey: Their record

However, despite the ups-and-downs, Rajasthan have the fifth-best win percentage in IPL. This is superior than the percentages of RCB, KXIP, and DC; sides who were deemed to have better squads than Rajasthan over the years.

Also read: By Robin Rounder – Why has RCB struggled in IPL?

So the question still remains; have RR underperformed or exceeded everyone’s expectations?

One thing for certain is that RR have been unpredictable. Even inconsistent. Or, you can go as far to say they have underperformed. No one thought they’d even qualify for the playoffs in the 2008 season, and they won it. Then, a team consisting of players like Watson, Faulkner, Rahane, Dravid, Tait, Hodge (in 2012) and Buttler, Archer, Stokes, Smith, Samson, Rahane (in 2019) have finished seventh in the points table.

The Reason

Let’s try to find out why they’ve been underperforming most of these years.

Over-dependency on overseas players is a major problem. RR are known for backing young players, rather than going for more experience. As a result, this increases the responsibility on the overseas stars.

Also, a crucial factor is that their most important players (Buttler, Stokes, and Archer) are English. More often than not, they leave the tournament when RR need them the most, as England’s preparations for their home summer ramp up as the IPL nears its end.

With this focus on overseas stars, RR lack an experienced core of Indian players like other teams such as MI and CSK. This is not to say that the young players don’t perform, but you need experience in the side to guide them along the way.

Captaincy is another area where they have lacked behind other teams. They have been unsuccessful in taking Warne’s legacy forward. Dravid was a good skipper, but after that, persisting with Rahane as skipper wasn’t a great move. You need someone who can bring the best out of the young players. One who can make them believe. Just like Shane Warne did in 2008. However, Rahane, unfortunately, failed to do that. He has been a great player for RR, but this didn’t translate to his captaincy.

Verdict

Rajasthan Royals exceeded everyone’s expectations in 2008. However, after that, they haven’t performed the way anyone expected, despite having stronger squads.

Overall, they have underperformed as a team and management. The strength in their squads in the past few seasons indicates they have performed well below their potential.

However, the current side looks strong. Hopefully for their fans, RR will perform as their potential suggests in the upcoming seasons.

Thanks for reading!

Written by Robin Rounder. Follow Robin on Twitter today.

Check out more of Robin’s articles on CricBlog, including:

• Why have RCB struggled in IPL?
• Analysis of England’s white-ball rise since 2015. What has been the key?
• 4 reasons why Mumbai Indians edge CSK in IPL cricket
• Why West Indies are successful in World T20s: Will they win the next edition too?
• Pros and cons of the rise of T20 cricket

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