Rajasthan Royals finished third in IPL 2024 [Source: @chinmayshah28/x]
The Rajasthan Royals franchise will likely make some drastic adjustments to its squad composition during the retention phase ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. As per reports, the Royals team management will be parting ways with blistering opening batter and England’s white-ball skipper Jos Buttler.
The report also indicated that the Rajasthan Royals is on course to retain a slew of local Indian stars in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, captain Sanju Samson among others.
Rajasthan Royals likely to drop Jos Buttler
As reported by Cricbuzz, the Rajasthan Royals will not be retaining ex-Orange Cap winner and blistering opening batter Jos Buttler for the IPL 2025 season. Moreover, the report further indicated that West Indies-based hard-hitting radical Shimron Hetmyer will likely emerge as their only overseas retention ahead of the mega auction.
Among the local batch of cricketers, the Rajasthan Royals franchise is on course of retaining Indian Test star Yashasvi Jaiswal, prodigious white-ball talent Riyan Parag, franchise zealot Sanju Samson, fast bowler Sandeep Sharma as well as wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel.
In Jos Buttler’s case, ever since winning the Orange Cap in IPL 2022 by mounting 863 runs at an average of 57.53, the attacking English batter has failed to cross 400 runs in each of the subsequent two editions of the tournament. In IPL 2023, Buttler listed just 392 runs in 14 games at an average of 28. Earlier this year, the right-hander tallied 359 runs from 11 innings.
Under the leadership of Sanju Samson, the Rajasthan Royals franchise finished third on the IPL 2024 points table earlier this year. Securing eight wins from 14 matches, the Royals’ high-flying campaign came to a halt in the second qualifier with a 36-run defeat to runners-up SRH.
Riyan Parag (573 runs), Yashasvi Jaiswal (435 runs) and captain Sanju Samson (531 runs) himself played starring roles with the bat in Rajasthan Royals’ third-placed finish in IPL 2024.