Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) will begin their 2021 IPL campaign on Monday at Wankhede Stadium. RR will take the field under new leadership led by Kumar Sangakkara and led by Sanju Samson. His first assignment will be to pick a strong and stable starting pair, a crucial factor behind the inaugural champion's poor performance last season.
Based on the news coming from the Royals' camouflage, it's very likely that RR will choose the UK bursting duo Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. Skipper Samson, while unwilling to reveal his cards publicly, said junior players will have a long rope this season.
"It depends. I can't tell you anything. I and Sanja (Kara) will try to provide the best combination for our team and in fact it is always necessary to give the spouses or individuals enough time in the tournament. So I think it will show a little. Of stability, the rest depends on the way we go." Sanju Samson stated.
"I think it is a decision that we will make with the total purchase of the players involved. We want to keep our options open. The most important thing is for the players to be clearly informed of their choices and make them abide by them." Said RR Manager Cricket Kumar Sangakkara
IPL 2021 RR Playing XI vs PBKS: Why Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes will be a good choice as openers?
Last season, the Rajasthan franchise tried five sets starting in Butler-Steve Smith, Yashasoi Jaiswal-Butler and Jaiswal-Smith. There was also a chance to pair Stokes-Buttler, but only for two games, only to settle for Stokes-Robin Uthappa in the end.
The English couple's first match together was an opening against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The new role affected them and both left cheaply. While Stoke scored five runs, Butler was sent off for 16. However, there was a significant improvement in the second match against the Delhi Capitals. They sewed an inaugural partnership of 63 races. Stokes has contributed 41 times, while Butler has 22 times to his name.
But its current form is most important to the RR when choosing a starting pair. The duo were in great shape in the recently concluded White Ball series against India. Second-best goalscorer for Stokes' national team, with 135 points in three matches. On the other hand, Buttler had an influence on the shorter version of the game. He was the best contestant on his team and second overall behind Indian team captain Virat Kohli. In three matches, the goalkeeper scored 172 points.
England and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Ewen Morgan also believes that Joss Butler and Ben Stokes would be the right and most exciting choice for Rajasthan to start their roles. "The two obviously will open to Rajasthan this year in the IPL. So it would be great to see it."
IPL 2021 RR Playing XI vs PBKS: What will be the batting line-up?
The biggest problem Rajasthan faces is the weakness of its Indian heart, which has not been steadfast. Samson has rarely appeared in five consecutive matches in either version in recent years. Pacer Jaydev Unadkat, bought for Rs 11.5 crore in 2018, has failed delivery while Manan Vohra has only been awesome on rare occasions. It will be interesting to see what role Samson, Onadkat, and Vohra will play this season.
With Steve Smith out of the picture now, RR is likely at # 3, while Yashaswi Jaiswal or Manan Vohra may be at # 4. Rajasthan will miss David Miller as he's still under quarantine and managing a team waiting for an update on this. In his absence, Ryan Parage will likely be the No. 5 hitters. Rahul Tiwatia will resume his duties in sixth place and he is ready to repeat his role as runner-up like last season.
IPL 2021 RR Playing XI vs PBKS: Bowling unit a big headache
Rajasthan is a team with an inexperienced bowling unit. With the exception of Chris Morris, which is bought for 16.25 crore Indian rupees, there's no dreadful pace on the side. Their speed bowling star Joffra Archer is not yet available due to injury. To add to his fears, Bangladeshi escort Mustafa Rahman will be absent from the opening match due to the quarantine.
While Morris will be the leader of Rajasthan, Jaidev Onadkat and Kartik Tiyagi will likely be his alternates. In the spinning department, Shreyas Gopal will join Tewatia. Sangakkara says an inexperienced bowling alley can be beneficial to your campaign.
"Lack of experience can work for you sometimes and other times it means that the opposition didn't see it either. But fast bowling, especially in IPL, is not an easy task and we saw it yesterday (during DC vs CSK) too. Sometimes the wicket is really good at hitting or Most wickets are so. So I'm sure our junior bowlers will advance we had Kartik Tiyagi, who did really well last season on spots. And this year we have a new addition in Kuldeep Yadav and Chetan Sakariya. I think it's about keeping them focused on their work. Training them and implementing game plans in different scenarios.
RR Playing XI vs PBKS in IPL 2021 (Likely):
1) Jos Buttler, 2) Ben Stokes, 3) Sanju Samson, 4) Riyan Parag, 5) Shivam Dubey 6) Rahul Tewatia, 7) Chris Morris, 8) Andrew Tye 9) Shreyas Gopal, 10) Kartik Tyagi, 11) Jaydev Unadkat
IPL 2021 – Rajasthan Royals Full Squad: Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, KC Cariappa, Liam Livingstone, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh
