Rajasthan Royals (RR) were one of the most active teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction. Having retained only Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal for a combined sum of INR 28 crores, they went into the auction with a big purse. And they managed to rope in some of the big names in the cricket world.
The Royals won the 2008 edition of the IPL, but haven’t been able to get their hands on the trophy since then. They finished the auction on a grand note, picking four overseas players in double-quick time. To start with, they bought New Zealand’s James Neesham for INR 1.50 crores. Neesham played for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the previous edition of the IPL.
Thereafter, RR caught hold of Australian fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile at INR 2 crore in the IPL auction. Soon after, the Royals roped in South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen in the auction at a price of INR 1 crore. Black Caps’ all-rounder Daryl Mitchell was their last final pick as he went at a price of INR 75 lakhs in the IPL auction.
To demonstrate their buying in the IPL auction, RR posted a rib-tickling video on their social media handle.
RR posted a hilarious meme on IPL 2022 auction
4 minute mein overseas double! 😂🤠pic.twitter.com/ikO6eB5WQ5
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) February 13, 2022
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The Royals started the auction after busing Ravi Ashwin for INR 2 crores. Ashwin played for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2021 before moving to the Royals. Thereafter, they bought New Zealand’s Trent Boult, West Indies’ Shimron Hetmyer, and India’s Devdutt Padikkal. They spent a massive amount on Prasidh Krishna and roped him for INR 10 crores.
RR also secured the services of Yuzvendra Chahal, who spent eight years with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. Chahal went to the Royals at a price of INR 6.50 crores. They also roped in the likes of Karun Nair, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, KC Cariappa and Riyan Parag.
Last year Samson captained them and he failed to take the team to the playoffs, although he performed well with the bat. It remains to be seen if the Royals can turn their fortunes around this time.
