Can Dravid's Rajasthan Royals end their title drought?

What's new with Rajasthan Royals in the new cycle?

Rahul Dravid has returned to coaching duties. And his task yet again is cut out: win the trophy!

He did that with the Indian team the last time he was in a similar role, and there's not much more that Rajasthan Royals would ask of their former skipper as they attempt to lift the title they had last won in 2008. In his latest endeavour, Dravid has the company of batting coach Vikram Rathour.

For a team that utilised the extent of its six possible retentions, there is a fair amount of shuffle to the side even beyond the coaching staff. Jos Buttler, the third-highest run-scorer in their history, is out. So are the spin twins – Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin, and pacer Trent Boult. Despite the offloading of senior, high-quality bowlers from the squad, that's not a department Royals would sweat over. They not only covered those bases with younger like-for-like replacements, but went on a purchasing spree for a host of fine Indian pace bowling options apart from bringing back Jofra Archer.

The combinations they can experiment with in the bowling department, to suit the required conditions, are plenty. But old problems persist with the batting. The absence of quality back-ups and iffy death-hitting options are the biggest of those. It would be interesting to see how much they rely on their 13-year-old import, Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

The best XII as things stand

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

Injury/Availability Concerns

• Sanju Samson, who underwent surgery for a right index finger fracture sustained during the T20 series against England last month, is understood to have passed the fitness test for his batting, but a clearance from NCA is still awaited.

• Additionally, pacer Tushar Deshpande, who underwent ankle surgery last year, has been out of action since September 2024, missing out on the entire domestic season since then.

The player with a point to prove is…

Nitish Rana. Despite strong and consistent returns in the IPL since making his international debut, the southpaw's career hasn't seen as much favour as he would've liked. He moved base out of his home state association and then sat out more often than featuring in the playing XII last season for KKR, playing only two games during the franchise's title-winning campaign. Rana has had a tough year across formats in domestic cricket this season, and even endured an underwhelming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign. There will be much to prove for him, to get back to reckoning.

A player who could have a breakout season

Dhruv Jurel. The wicketkeeper-bat's promise has been displayed several times over. But given the tough match situations he often faces, one that Riyan Parag couldn't ace for several seasons, he will have to deliver more often than he has. Despite not having the most outstanding T20 numbers, the franchise has shown faith in Jurel and retained him for a whooping INR 14 Crore. For Royals to clinch key moments, there is much left to prove for the promising youngster. If he does click this season, it could prove a big turning point in his T20 career.

Fixture build-up and run-in…

Rajasthan Royals' games are well spaced out, but the team will have a lot of travelling to do. The maximum they will stay put at one venue would be for a stretch of two games – once in Guwahati and later on in Jaipur. Thus, it will be a fairly hectic campaign and the longest break they will have is following their eighth match of the league stage, between April 19 to 24.

A home ground stat to watch out for this season

Toss isn't much of a factor at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, which will serve as one of the two home venues of Royals this season. In the last 10 games, teams batting first and second have won the same number of matches. It may, however, not be the best of the venues for pace bowlers, who have endured the worst average and strike rate in Jaipur among all the IPL venues across the last two editions.