'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
If you zoom out now, there wasn't much difference between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024. Similar team construction, similarly talented players, similar captains and coaches, similar innovative ideas and similar fans thirsty to see the team turn the clock back and win more titles.
RR even beat KKR at the Eden Gardens. At the end of the day, the difference between a champion team and the one that lost in the second Qualifier was momentum -- some close matches right before the Playoffs sucked that out of RR and a couple of clutch wins in the same period made KKR unstoppable.
For RR, it felt like they came close to the end of their years-long project, which was built around polishing young talent signed for cheap in the auction. Now, although that project didn't give the desired result, it needs to reach a big, forced brake.
New IPL rules for the 2025 auction don't allow franchises to retain or use a Right-to-Match (RTM) option for more than six players. Even in those six, as per reports, the salary slabs -- a fourth retention will cost as much as the first -- will deliberately make it difficult for teams to choose more than three.
RR, like other teams, will have to make some tough decisions and let go of some players who have been a bit part of their identity. They might be able to use the RTM on them if the price is right in the auction but retention would be difficult.
#3 Trent Boult
New Zealand left-arm, quick Trent Boult took 16 wickets at an average of 27.69 in IPL 2024. It wasn't his worst season but not his best either as he had a lot of games where he struggled to make his usual impact.
Though some of it can be pardoned because the conditions were bad for pacers overall, Boult was largely overshadowed by Avesh Khan and Sandeep Sharma. He's still one of the best bowlers in the world but at 35 years of age, with no regular international cricket under his belt, Boult is a risky retention investment.
That's because you retain players for a three-year cycle. RR will likely not want to lose Jos Buttler who is 34 too. No team would want to use their retentions on more than one player who is likely to be well past their prime -- age is also a bigger factor for pacers than batters -- after just one or two seasons.
#2 Dhruv Jurel
This isn't an age-related issue. Dhruv Jurel is just unlucky to be low on the pecking order of RR's Indian core: Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Ravichandran Ashwin. Jurel, just 23, would have been an excellent choice as an uncapped player had he not made his Test debut for India earlier this year.
Moreover, despite being a product of RR's youth promotion, Jurel might want to go to the auction himself. He's more of a top-order batter, forced to play middle and lower-middle order due to the franchise's needs. Still, last season, even when Buttler left the squad for national duty, RR didn't bring Jurel up which backfired.
This could be a good time for the young wicketkeeper, who has a place to fight for in India's teams across formats, to move out into a team where he's a bigger part of the core group. Royals already have wicketkeepers and an 'uncapped' option in Sandeep Sharma so shouldn't mind letting a youngster test himself in the auction.
#1 Yuzvendra Chahal
It might be one of the more shocking decisions for some but there's a good chance RR go through it. They took him for ₹6.5 crores in the auction after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) similarly shockingly let him go in 2022.
But a deeper look would show that it's not a shock. Chahal is one of the best spinners in the IPL, even in an overall difficult season where he averaged 30.33 -- his worst since 2014 -- the leggie managed to pick up 18 wickets.
The issue is not wickets. It was the fact that he started extremely well, holding an economy rate of 7.41 after the first six games. But at the end of the campaign, it had soared to 9.41, as he lost confidence after a couple of bad performances.
Chahal has been quite inconsistent like that in the last couple of years which has lost him his place in India's white-ball teams. T20s as a whole have moved towards quicker leg-spinners, who can bowl at high pace and continuously pitch ball on the good lengths -- Chahal is a more traditional, slow and looping operator.
In the first half of IPL 2024, he seemed to have learned that and bowled flatter and quicker but then lost it on the way somewhere. It's hard to see RR willing to take that risk again, even if it'll come at the cost of some guaranteed wickets.
Notably, leg-spinners haven't gone for excessive money for a long time in auctions. Even last year, SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) signed one of the best in the world, for his base price of ₹1.5 crore; this year, there would likely be even better options, perhaps including Ravi Bishnoi and mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy.
RR might be able to convey a price that they'll be happy to bring Chahal back for but at the moment, retention doesn't seem like a wise decision.
