Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals is an Indian cricket team and past IPL winner that is trying to compete for the IPL title every season. They are constantly looking to get better by including stronger players and finding innovative ways to play. With that in mind, here are their biggest strengths entering the 2025 season.

We should also note that the Rajasthan Royals also come with a few weaknesses that can cause problems this season. Here are the key team flaws you should know about:

This season Rajasthan Royals will rely mostly on the same key players as last year. But, there are a few new cricketers who can take the lead. The main players in this team are Dhruv Jurel, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, and Jofra Archer.

Historical Performance

This top Indian cricket team has played in the IPL since 2008. But, it only appeared in 15 of the possible 17 seasons. Everything has to do with the 2-year suspension they got in July 2015 for the 2013 betting scandal. This forced the club to miss out on the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Every fan can spectate their home matches at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. This ground can hold up to 24,000 individuals. However, the Rajasthan Royals may also play their home games at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati, Assam. This one can accommodate up to 37,800 fans.

Out of all 15 seasons in the IPL, the team managed to qualify for the playoffs only 6 times. During those years, it did progress through to the final on 2 occasions.

One of them was actually the first IPL final in 2008 against the Super Kings, which they managed to win. The other one was in 2022 when they lost to the Gujarat Titans. The Rajasthan Royals were also the runners-up in the 2013 Champions League Twenty20.

We should also note that Sanju Samson is the team’s record run-scorer with 3,742 runs. Shane Watson, on the other hand, is the leading wicket-taker with 67 wickets.

Rajasthan Royals in Recent Seasons

The 2020 IPL season didn’t go as Rajasthan Royals expected. They ended the group stage in the last 8th place with only 12 points. However, they did lack 2 points to level up with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 4th position. This fact shows the high competitiveness of the league that year.

In the following season, the team once again failed to book a place in the quarter-finals. This time they ended in the 7th spot with 10 points coming from 5 wins.

After a few bad years, Rajasthan Royals finally played a good group stage in 2022. They ended this part of the season in 2nd place with 18 points.

In the quarter-finals, they lost to Gujarat Titans but did manage to win against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the semi-finals. However, the Royals lost once more to the Titans, this one in the IPL final.

Rajasthan Royals were very unlucky in the 2023 season as they finished in 5th place. They were just two points short from qualifying for the playoffs. Their record showed 7 wins, 7 losses, and a +0.148 net run rate.

But, the good performances did come in the 2024 IPL season. This time the team ended in 3rd place with 17 points. After proceeding to the playoffs, the Royals met the Royal Challengers once again.

This time they managed to win and go to the semi-finals. But, sadly for them, the Sunrisers Hyderabad were better and knocked them out of the competition.

Rajasthan Royals Players 2025

The Rajasthan Royals squad 2025 consist of just 20 players, one of the lowest in the IPL. However, that doesn’t mean that the team lacks quality. They made sure to retain 8 top players and sign 12 additional cricketers with different backgrounds and abilities. You can check them out below this segment.

Batters

For the 2025 IPL season, the club decided to go with 5 left-handed batters and not a single right-handed player. But, they do feature good right-handed all-rounders that can cover this position. Here are the featured Rajasthan Royals’ batters:

• Yashasvi Jaiswal – This is a 23-year-old left-handed opening batter who’s been in the team since 2020. So far, he managed to score a total of 1,607 runs for the Royals, averaging 32.14. He was also part of India’s squad that won the 2022 Asian Games and the 2024 T20 World Cup.
• Shimron Hetmyer – A West Indies left-handed top-order batter who has played for the Royals since 2022. During his 3 seasons at the club, Hetmyer accumulated 727 runs. He started gaining attention after captaining his national team to win the 2016 U19 Cricket World Cup.
• Nitish Rana – Another left-handed batter who just joined the Royals. In the past, he was part of the 2017 Mumbai Indians’ and 2024 Kolkata Knight Riders’ winning squads. Now, he’s ready to bring in some additional experience to the team. 
• Vaibhav Suryavanshi – Yet another left-handed batter that the club signed this season. Surprisingly, this is a 13-year-old player who became the youngest cricketer to sign an IPL contract and feature in List A cricket.
• Shubham Dubey – A 30-year-old left-handed batter who has been part of the squad since 2024. Last season, he only appeared in 4 matches where he scored 33 runs. This year, he hopes to play a bit more often.

Wicket-Keepers

The Rajasthan Royals players in 2025 in the wicket-keeper position are the same as the last 3 years. It consists of 3 such players who are more than capable of performing at a high level. The featured wicket-keepers are the following:

• Dhruv Jurel – This is a right-handed wicket-keeper batter who signed for the club in 2023. Since then, he managed to get a total of 347 runs. He’s also playing for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket and represents India.
• Kunal Singh Rathore – A left-handed wicket-keeper and batter who has played for the Royals since 2022. However, despite being here for 3 seasons, he is still waiting for his debut. Hopefully, it will come this year.
• Sanju Samson – This is the current team captain and all-time run-scorer. He’s the longest-serving player in this squad as he joined in 2018. Samson was also part of the Indian team that won the 2024 T20 World Cup.

All-Rounders

This cricket team made a decision to go in the season with just 3 all-rounders. These players also come with similar characteristics. Here are the featured cricketers that you should know about:

• Riyan Parag – A key all-rounder who’s a right-armed batter and a right-arm off-break and leg-break bowler. This 22-year-old player has a run-score record of 1,173 and only 4 wickets. Plus, he won the 2018 U19 Cricket World Cup with India.
• Wanindu Hasaranga – This is a newly-signed Sri Lankan all-rounder who previously played for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The Royals can use him as a right-handed batter and as a right-armed leg-break bowler.
• Yudhvir Singh – A 27-year-old right-handed batter and right-arm medium-fast bowler. He signed for the team in November 2024 after leaving Lucknow Super Giants. The team brought him into the squad as a backup player.

Bowlers

The Rajasthan Royals went all in on new bowlers for this season as they signed 8 and retained only one player. Below you’ll find the full list of cricketers who specialise in pace or spin bowling.

• Maheesh Theekshana – A new right-arm off-break spin bowler from Sri Lanka. This player was previously part of the Chennai Super Kings’ squad where he achieved 25 wickets in 3 seasons. He tends to bowl at high speeds that often exceed 100 km/h.
• Kumar Kartikeya – This is a slow left-arm orthodox and wrist-spin bowler who recently signed for the Royals. Here, he will act as a backup player, just like he did during his 2 seasons with the Mumbai Indians.
• Sandeep Sharma – A well-known right-arm medium-fast bowler who signed for the team back in 2023. Since then, Sharma has achieved 23 wickets in 23 matches. He’s consistent and effective and often remarked as underrated.
• Jofra Archer – An English right-arm fast bowler who resigned from the Royals after 4 years. From 2018 to 2020, this player accomplished 46 wickets and 195 runs. Now, he’s back for some more action and hopefully wins the league.
• Akash Madhwal – Royal’s new right-arm medium-fast bowler who comes from Mumbai Indians. In his 2 seasons in the IPL, he played 13 matches and got 19 wickets. He’s now ready to pump up his numbers and help the team win the title.
• Tushar Deshpande – A former right-arm medium-pace bowler for the Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings who just signed for the Royals. He played most of his career as a backup, but he’s starting to earn trust in starting positions.
• Fazalhaq Farooqi – A 24-year-old Afghan left-arm fast bowler with little experience in the IPL. He’s a former Sunrisers Hyderabad player who signed for the Royals this season. During his 7 league matches in 2022 and 2023, he bowled 6 wickets.
• Kwena Maphaka – This is a South African left-arm medium-fast bowler who’s 18 years of age. Last season, he appeared in 2 matches for Mumbai Indians where he got one wicket. He’s a hot prospect with a lot of potential.
• Ashok Sharma – A 22-year-old right-arm medium-fast bowler who hasn’t made an IPL debut so far. Hopefully, Rajasthan Royals will give him a chance to show off his skills during the 2025 season.

Rajasthan Royals Captain

• The first Indian wicket-keeper to achieve a century during a T20 international
• The only cricketer to score 3 centuries during a calendar year (2024) in T20 internationals
• The first Indian player to score 2 consecutive centuries in T20 internationals

Rajasthan Royals Rivals

Rajasthan Royals are in a tense rivalry with the Punjab Kings that lasts for numerous years. Media and fans call it the “Northern Derby” due to their towns’/states’ geography. Their matches often provide an intense atmosphere and high scores.

Speaking of high scores, Rajasthan Royals hold the record with 226. However, Punjab Kings are right behind them with 223. As for the lowest score, the Royals sit at 112 while the latter have 124.

The teams met a total of 28 times in the IPL. Rajasthan Royals managed to win 16 while Punjab Kings had 12 matches. Both clubs have never met each other in the playoffs. However, this seems reasonable as the Kings have only qualified for 2 quarter-finals.

During their 2019 match, Ravichandran Ashwin (Punjab) ran out Jos Buttler (Rajasthan) at the non-striker’s end. This clash caused a lot of tension between both clubs during the event.

Rajasthan Royals is also in rivalry mode with the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. This is an understandable competitiveness as both teams are responsible for 10 of 17 IPL titles. They are the ultimate favourites almost every season, making them the ones to beat.