Rajasthan Royals All-Time Best Playing 11
1. Shane Watson
If we talk about the best ever foreign players in IPL history, then Watson’s name will definitely come. In 2008, Shane Watson’s inclusion in the team was a no-brainer because he was injured before the inaugural season of the IPL. However, the Australian all-rounder shut down the critics winning the Man of the Tournament award. He also went on to win the 2013 Most Valuable Player award. His impressive stats in the first season of IPL helped in his comeback into the Australian squad. He is not only Rajasthan Royals’ 2nd highest run-scorer but also their highest wicket-taker of all time. He will be the first name in Rajasthan Royals All-Time Best Playing 11.
2. Ajinkya Rahane
Rahane started his IPL career with local side Mumbai Indians. He was bought by Rajasthan Royals in 2011. He made his debut for India after strong performances for the Royals. He had a memorable season in 2012 when he finished the season as the leading run-scorer for Rajasthan Royals. Rahane scored 560 runs in 2012 which is the most he has ever scored in a single season. In his tenure with RR, he established himself as one of the most dependable batsmen at the top of the order. His long career with Rajasthan gets him a place in RR All-Time Best Playing 11.
3. Rahul Dravid
In the first season of IPL, Dravid was selected as the icon player for Royal Challengers Bangalore. After playing for a few years with RCB, he joined Rajasthan Royals in 2011 and was made the captain of the side in 2012. In his last two seasons with RR, Dravid took the role of captain-coach. He was much better with the bat after switching to Rajasthan from Bangalore. He scored 1324 runs in his three years at Rajasthan Royals. He left a huge mark on Rajasthan Royals and that’s why he gets a place in RR All-Time Best Playing 11.
4. Jos Butler
Butler joined RR only in 2018 but his influence on the team in this short period is great enough to get him a place in Rajasthan Royals All-Time Best Playing 11. He spent a couple of average seasons with the Mumbai Indians after being drafted by the Rajasthan Royals. Jos was outstanding during his first season at Rajasthan Royals. He scored a total of 548 runs as RR reached the playoffs of the tournament for the first time since 2015. In 2019, he scored 311 runs in just 8 matches. He also revived his international career by making it to the England Test side owing to his superb performance in the IPL.
5. Sanju Samson (wk)
Sanju Samson impressed everyone while playing for Rajasthan Royals in his debut season. In 2013, Samson scored 206 runs and won the best young player award for that season. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman has been nurtured by Rahul Dravid for a long time. He was in the RR squad for two seasons from 2013-2015. After an average outing in 2015, he was released by Rajasthan Royals. Delhi Daredevils picked him in the auction. He returned to Rajasthan Royals in 2018 and scored 441 runs. At present he is the captain of Rajasthan.
6. Yusuf Pathan
Yusuf Pathan is just another player who made a great impact in a short time. He wsas purchased by RR for the first season of the IPL. Pathan was very crucial for RR as they charged their way to the first IPL title. In IPL 2008, he scored 435 runs and took 8 wickets. He won the Man of the Match in the final match against Chennai Super Kings as they were crowned champions of IPL 2008. He parted ways with Rajasthan Royals in after the 2010 season. But his heroics in the three seasons are enough to get him a place in Rajasthan Royals All-Time Best Playing 11.
7. Stuart Binny
Stuart Binny was a part of Mumbai Indians in 2010 but didn’t get a lot of playing time. He joined Rajasthan Royals in 2011 and spent most of his IPL career over there. He has been included in RR All-Time Best Playing 11 because he has been a loyal servant for Rajasthan Royals. He was a part of Rajasthan Royals from 2011 to 2015. Due to the ban on RR, Binny joined Royal Challengers in 2016. He was back to Rajasthan Royals in 2018.
8. James Faulkner
The Australian all-rounder played one season each for Pune Warriors India and Kings XI Punjab in 2011 and 2012 respectively. In 2013, he joined Rajasthan Royals and spent three fruitful seasons with the franchise. In 2013, he picked up 28 wickets but still didn’t win the purple cap.
9. Shreyas Gopal
Most of the players were easy inclusions in this RR All-Time Best Playing 11 but his selection might cause a bit of a debate. Pravin Tambe and Munaf Patel were other options in this spot. However, we chose to go with Gopal due to his long spell with the team.
10. Shane Warne (capt)
His stardom can be estimated from the fact that he was the only foreign player to be selected as the icon player for a side in the 2008 IPL season. Warne contributed in the success of RR by coaching the side during the latter stages of his career. He shocked everyone by leading Rajasthan to the IPL trophy in 2008 as underdogs. He picked up 19 wickets in that season. He took 14, 11 and 13 wickets in the next three seasons. He ended his campaign at Rajasthan Royals with a total of 57 wickets in his four years stint. He will be leading this RR All-Time Best Playing 11.
11. Siddarth Trivedi
Siddharth Trivedi disappeared after shining in IPL. He was one of the most consistent uncapped Indian players at a time. He was a part of Rajasthan Royals squad who won the 2008 competition. He picked up 13 wickets in the 2008 season. He picked consistent wickets each year for Rajasthan Royals. He is RR’s second-highest wicket-taker of all time and has 65 dismissals in his name. In 2013, Trivedi was banned for 1 year and after that he didn’t make a return to IPL.
