Rajasthan Royals (RR) were considered the weakest side on paper after the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL)’s auction concluded. RR banked on local talents and underrated overseas players under the leadership of a shrewd tactician Shane Warne who never got a chance in this role at the international stage. One such local talent in the team was Swapnil Asnodkar. The wicketkeeper-batter had a terrific debut season and was a vital cog in the wheel in their only title win that proved you don’t need big names to make it big in the cash-rich league.
Asnodkar’s power-packed debut
Asnodkar was not a part of the playing XI for the first four games. He made his IPL debut against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He made a mark straightaway scoring 60 runs from 34 balls including 10 fours and a six. He helped RR post 196/7 and beat KKR by 45 runs.
Impressive numbers in debut season
He continued to contribute with valuable performances up the batting order. In the debut season, he scored 311 runs from nine innings at an average of 34.44 including two half-centuries.
One-season wonder
However, Asnodkar turned out to be a one-season wonder. In the next season which was played on South African pitches, Asnodkar's performances dipped. Apart from the 44-run knock, he failed miserably. From eight games, he scored 98 runs at an average of 12.25. His strike rate dipped from 133.47 to 105.36. In the next two seasons, he played in just three games and scored 13 runs.
After IPL 2011, he was released by RR. He did not play for another franchise. His IPL career spanned four seasons and 20 matches. His last IPL appearance was against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and was bowled for a single-digit score. He played for the Royals in the Champions T20 League as well.
Life after retirement
Asnodkar played his last T20 match in 2018. He scored 1,699 runs from 73 innings at an average of 24.27 including 13 half-centuries. He announced his retirement in 2019. Later, he was appointed as coach of Goa's Under-23 side.
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