Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered a huge blow in the playoffs of IPL 2025 as they were convincingly defeated by 100 runs when they faced Mumbai Indians (MI) at Jaipur. Bowling problems were compounded by the unavailability of Sandeep Sharma and Wanindu Hasaranga, which allowed MI to score 217 batting first. That was the third match in a row where RR surrendered more than 200 runs after indifferent performances against the Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Many pointed out the auction strategy of the RR after this loss, including an ex-CSK player Abhinav Mukund. Archer, who could be termed their best bowler, is their biggest buy. Alas, even their Indian purchases haven’t clicked. Tushar Deshpande, who didn’t play in this game, cost a pretty penny-in excess of INR 6.75 crore. Then they went out and spent big on two other Indian batsmen, Nitish Rana and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Mukund said. Personally, I would not have bought Vaibhav Suryavanshi for 1.1 crores or Nitish Rana for even 3 crores. I would have used that money to get some good bowlers. Last year’s bowling lineup comprised some good names-Avesh Khan, Chahal, Ashwin, Trent Boult, and Sandeep Sharma.
But RR had very little depth in their bowling line-up, relying too heavily on unswervingly young Indian spinners like Kumar Kartikeya and part-timer Riyan Parag to hold things together. The team also relied quite heavily on overseas players Theekshana and Hasaranga, which naturally threw the whole team balance out of whack.
Replacement for an injured Samson, 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi went out against MI for a duck. Though he had scored a hundred against GT, the early dismissal further dented RR’s difficult chase attempt. Now that the chances of the team progressing to the playoffs are over, they are being widely criticized for preferring young batsmen rather than competent bowlers.
