Cricket can be acrimonious at times with Rajasthan Royals it’s prime examples when the Jaipur teams was hit with the ‘spot-fixing’ scandal last season but now they aim to clear their off-field image.
Cricket can be acrimonious at times with Rajasthan Royals it’s prime examples when the Jaipur teams was hit with the ‘spot-fixing’ scandal last season but now they aim to clear their off-field image with good on-field performances when they begin their IPL campaign by taking on the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The dark days have receded for the Royals who were left reeling on their bare bones after their former India pacer S Sreesanth and two other teammates – Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested for allegedly indulging in spot-fixing. But the team fought back with spirit and dignity as they made the finals of the CLT20 last year.
After the retirement of iconic Indian batsman, Rahul Dravid the reins of captaincy has been handed over to Aussie, Shane Watson. After the appoinment, the Aussie all-rounder assured that the team had got over the distraction and was concentrating on giving its best in the league.
Even though the Royals have some quality players in their ranks, all eyes will be on 19-year-old Sanju Samson who has mesmerised one and all with his attacking batting display.
As far as the Hyderabad Sunrisers are concerned, they have already showed their brilliance at the auction, where they have bought some talented players. The team boasts the likes of skipper Shikhar Dhawan, Aaron Finch and David Warner at the top, while there is Darren Sammy down the order. But the bowling option looks stronger than ever with South African spearhead, Dale Steyn leading the line. Indian stars Bhuvneshwar Kumar, spinner Amit Mishra are keeping him company too.
If Darren Sammy plays, the eyes will be on opposition Aussie bowler James Faulkner. The duo have shared a sour taste since the T20 World Cup and the either of the two will look to take the advantage.
SQUADS:
Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson (c), Ajinkya Rahane, James Faulkner, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Brad Hodge, Steven Smith, Abhishek Nayar, Ben Cutting, Kane Richardson, Tim Southee, Unmukt Chand, Ankush Bains, Vikramjeet Malik, Rahul Tewatia, Ankit Sharma, Amit Mishra, Deepak Hooda, Rajat Bhatia, Kevon Cooper, Iqbal Abdulla, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe, Karun Nair, Dishant Yagnik.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Dale Steyn, David Warner, Darren Sammy, Amit Mishra, Aaron Finch, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Brendan Taylor, Moises Henriques, Venugopala Rao, Jason Holder, S Aniruddha, Manprit Juneja, KL Rahul, Amit Paunikar, Naman Ojha, Ricky Bhui, Ashish Reddy, Chama Milind, Parveez Rasool, Prashanth Parameshwaran, Karn Sharma.
