Rajasthan Royals

However, both protagonists of their triumph were deemed unavailable for 2009, While Watson had international commitments, Tanvir was not given permission by his country to participate in the tournament, a statement that still holds true for all Pakistani players. Thus, the side only managed wins in six out of their 14 games, failing to make it to the knockout stages after finishing 6th. They even set the then-record for the lowest total in IPL history after succumbing for 58 against RCB. Nevertheless, RR ended up beating England’s Twenty20 Cup champions Middlesex in a one-off encounter labelled the British Asian Cup, marking their first-ever international encounter in positive colours.

2010 had a similar narrative, the statistics reading the same – six wins in 14 games but this time only good enough for seventh place. Even the then-fastest century in IPL history, struck by Yusuf Pathan off 37 balls, was not enough to earn the side a victory against Mumbai Indians highlighting the deficit in other departments of the side.

Scandal first struck the side in 2011 after the BCCI attempted to eject the side from the tournament due to unreported changes in ownership However, the attempt was quashed by the High Court which instead advocated a fine to be paid from the side’s auction purse. Warne played his last season in purple that year, his farewell game being a victory but only good enough to see the side again end up with six wins, claiming the sixth spot in the points table. 

An extended 2012 season, this time with Rahul Dravid in-charge, was largely uneventful for the Royals. They could only win seven of their 16 matches failing to make the playoffs once again. However, the drought was finally broken the next season as the side this time won 10 of their 16 games, securing third position in the table, Rajasthan even beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator but were then knocked out by eventual champions Mumbai Indians. At the same time, a second scandal struck the team when players S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested and then banned by the BCCI for match-fixing.

With Dravid now switching to a mentorship role, the reins were handed to Shane Watson. A fifth-placed finish ensued with seven wins in 14 encounters but a replication of the same was enough for the side to make the playoffs for the third time in 2015. However, RCB cut their dreams shot by ejecting them in the eliminator itself.

A two-year forced hiatus followed after the BCCI handed the side a suspension for being involved in spot-fixing, only for 2018 to bring further controversy. Skipper Steve Smith had to step down from his role after Cricket Australia banned him from playing for being involved in a ball-tampering scandal, making Ajinkya Rahane the franchise’s fifth skipper. Nevertheless, it all resulted in another seven-win season and another eliminator elimination, this time at the hands of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Smith’s return in 2019 did not impact results much, and neither did his reclamation of the captaincy midway through the season. A shambolic seventh-placed finish on the back of just five wins was made even worse when the side ended rock bottom in 2020 despite managing six wins this time around. In an unprecedented feat, the side’s spearhead Jofra Archer was named the MVP further highlighting the lack of support he received from teammates.

Thus sounded the end of the Steve Smith era and cult franchise hero Sanju Samson was placed at the helm instead. Even though the decision did not pay dividends at first with just five wins in the 2021 season seeing the team end up seventh, the batter led the side to a historic 2022. The side cruised to second in the points table with nine wins and then made it to the finals despite a loss in the qualifier. However, Gujarat Titans proved to be too good for them once again, meaning the Royals had to be satisfied with a silver-medal finish. Nevertheless, the side clean swept the year-end awards as orange-cap holder Jos Buttler was named the MVP while Yuzvendra Chahal was handed the purple cap.

Chief Executive Officer: Jake Lush McCrum

Director of cricket: Kumar Sangakkara

Assistant coach: Trevor Penney

Team manager: Romi Bhinder

Development and performance director: Zubin Bharucha

Batting coach: Amol Muzumdar

Spin bowling coach: Sairaj Bahutule

Fast Bowling coach: Lasith Malinga

High-performance bowling coach: Steffan Jones

Fielding coach: Dishant Yagnik

Team catalyst: Paddy Upton

The Rajasthan Royals have one of the most loyal fanbases in the sport that has stuck through with them through thick and thin. Despite the team being banned from the Indian Premier League for two seasons eight years into its existence, the supporters of the side refused to leave their side and emerged in full force upon the team’s return. It all started with the acquisition of the franchise by celebrated actress Shilpa Shetty before naming Shane Warne as captain helped capture an even wider population. Since then, the likes of Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal have earned cult status in the fanbase ensuring a core to which they can stick for the coming seasons.

At present, RR Twitter has 2.6 million followers, just a few less than it has on its Instagram (2.7M followers), while Facebook dominates the conversation considering the team’s 5M-plus following on the platform.

The main shirt sponsors of the Rajasthan Royals are Ather Energy while the space on the chest is dedicated to advertising Capri Loans, right next to the team logo. Other associate and kit sponsors of the franchise include Jio, BKT, Dream11 and Kotak while the jersey itself is produced by EM.

• Jos Buttler: The high-flying batter could do little wrong in IPL 2022, his fifth season for the franchise. Having been acquired in 2018 after underwhelming showings for the Mumbai Indians, Jos Buttler became the second batsmen in his debut season with the franchise itself to score five consecutive half-centuries. Three decent seasons followed, including one where he was controversially mankad by now-teammate R Ashwin, but the England skipper truly burst to form in the previous season where he pelted 863 runs at an average of 57.53 and a strike rate of 149.05 and equalled Virat Kohli’s record of registering four tons in a single season.

• Sanju Samson: The batter from Kerala was scouted and subsequently recruited by Rajasthan at the tender age of 18 and has since gone from strength to strength under their wings. The batter has grown into a flamboyant top-order destructor with 3,526 runs in 138 IPL matches at a strike rate of 135.72, including three centuries and 17 half-centuries. Samson has gone to represent India 28 times in white-ball cricket while being contracted with Rajasthan and has again been pushing the doors of late, having enjoyed a successful 2022 season with over 450 runs at a strike rate of 145-plus.

• Yuzvendra Chahal: Having already proven himself at Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chahal was bought by Rajasthan ahead of the 2022 season in a move that paid extreme dividends. The wrist-spinner ended up winning his maiden purple cap with 27 wickets at an average of 19.52 and a sub-eight economy, including a match-winning five-wicket haul against the Kolkata Knight Riders in one of the most spectacular spells in the tournament’s history featuring a world-class hat-trick. The 32-year-old now has 166 wickets to his name form 131 IPL games averaging 21.83.