Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2023: Fresh off of one of their best-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) are in good shape.
The Royals placed in the top two last season and advanced to the championship game, where they were defeated by the Gujarat Titans. Important stars with lucrative contracts like Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer, and Yuzvendra Chahal contributed significantly to Rajasthan Royals’s success last season.
With their performances, particularly Buttler and Chahal, who took home the Orange and Purple Caps, respectively, they proved that their price tags were justified.
However, some of the other stars on the list have blatantly fallen short of expectations. Here are three Rajasthan Royals stars with exorbitant IPL 2023 contracts.
IPL 2023: Here are 3 Rajasthan Royals Players who are overpriced in the IPL 16th Edition
3. Navdeep Saini
Few people have a natural pace as Navdeep Saini does. But over the past few years, especially in the game’s shortest format, the fast bowler has completely lost his path. At the IPL 2022 mega-auction, Rajasthan Royals purchased Saini for 2.6 crore, which was a substantial premium over what other domestic fast bowlers with comparable experience were able to command.
In the two games he played last year, he returned three wickets at a 12.0 economy rate. The speedster has played in 17 games over his last three IPL seasons, but only has nine wickets to show for it. On his strong days, Saini can bowl well. But at 30 years old, he hasn’t been able to progress the way Rajasthan Royals had hoped. It’s fair to say that 2.6 crore currently seems a bit excessive for him.
2. Trent Boult
Trent Boult was ardently sought after by the Mumbai Indians at the IPL mega-auction in 2022. They offered up to 7.75 crore rupees for the Kiwi fast bowler, but Rajasthan Royals was the one who placed the winning proposal at a staggering 8 crore.
For the Royals last season, Boult had a respectable performance, taking 16 wickets in as many games at an economy rate of 7.94. But is the 33-year-old left-armer really worth that much money? He lacks express pace, is mainly a powerplay bowler, and is not a dependable death bowler.
Boult’s most recent performances have indicated that he is nearing the conclusion of his elite-level career. It would be prudent for the Royals to release themselves from the burden of his large contract.
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1. Devdutt Padikkal
Many people expressed surprise when Rajasthan Royals purchased Devdutt Padikkal for 7.75 crores at the IPL 2022 mega-auction. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler were already at the top of the order for the first-year IPL winners. And it didn’t appear that they had room for the southpaw from Karnataka in his ideal position.
Padikkal was placed in the middle sequence in an attempt by Rajasthan Royals to improvise. But the strategy wasn’t particularly successful. Despite having a few encouraging innings. He finished the season with an average of 22.12 and a strike rate of 122.88. The left-hander frequently got stuck against spin. And the middle overs were a prime example of how restricted his range was.
Padikkal has recently experienced health problems, and his game isn’t yet evolved enough for him to demand such a high price. Even though he undoubtedly has the talent to become a great T20 batter. His fit in the Royals lineup and his present skills aren’t quite compatible.
