Rajasthan Royals (RR) have showed faith in Sanju Samson despite the seventh-place finish in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 under his captaincy. Along with Samson, explosive England batter Jos Buttler — who was in scintillating form in the recently concluded T20 World Cup — has been retained despite pulling out of the second phase of IPL 2021 where his services were dearly missed. The team has also shown faith in young gun Yashasvi Jaiswal who has shown his talent with the bat this season.
After winning the inaugural season the IPL, Royals have gone off the radar in recent years. The team has failed to replicate their 2008 success and have been dismal at times despite possessing promising talents like Samson, Smith. Last time RR qualified for the playoffs was in 2018 and since have been under achievers. The team management decided to appoint Samson as the skipper after letting go of Smith, but there was hardly any change in the fortunes of the team.
Retained Players
Sanju Samson (Rs 14 crore), Jos Buttler (Rs 10 crore), Yashasvi Jaiswal (Rs 4 crore)
Purse remaining - Rs 62 crores
Notable exclusions
England all-rounder Ben Stokes did not make the cut despite his hefty price tag. Similarly, Jofra Archer who missed out in previous season due to injury was not considered despite one empty spot.
Released Players
Ben Stokes, Evin Lewis, David Miller, Liam Livingstone, Manan Vohra, Anuj Rawat, Chris Morris, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Jofra Archer, Shivam Dubey, Jaydev Unadkat, KC Cariappa, Tabrez Shamsi, Oshane Thomas, Mustafizur Rahman, Andrew Tye, Akash Singh, Karthik Tyagi, Chetan Sakaria, Kuldeep Yadav, Mayank Markande
