Rajasthan Royals had to handle the obstacle of the unavailability of overseas cricketers in IPL 2021. While Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes were out injured, Liam Livingstone and Andrew Tye pulled out of the competition. As reported in ESPN Cricinfo, it is supposed that the English cricketers will not be available for the remaining games of IPL 2021. It will be a big blow for the RR unit which is heavily reliant on the English players. In this article, we take a look at the strongest RR XI without the England cricketers.
Rajasthan Royals is one franchise that has relied upon the strategy of employing a strong overseas unit and a budding Indian contingent in the playing XI. This tactic will backfire if England players will not be part of the remaining games of IPL 2021.
Openers: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson (C&WK)
The problem starts right from the opening combination in an RR XI without England cricketers. Without either Jos Buttler or Ben Stokes, the management may have to push Sanju Samson up the order. Although Sanju Samson has the experience of being an opener, his going up might weaken the middle-order.
Nevertheless, Rajasthan will likely go with this combination at the top. Yashasvi Jaiswal did better than Manan Vohra, and hence, he will be the first-choice opener. Unless RR experiments by sending Riyan Parag as the opener, their primary option will be for the captain to walk alongside Yashasvi.
Middle-Order: Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller
Although Rassie van der Dussen was named as Ben Stokes’ replacement in IPL 2021, the South African could not come to India as he failed to obtain a NOC from his board. That said, this issue is likely to be solved now that IPL 2021 is suspended. The 32-year-old is in fine form now and will operate at an important position in this batting line-up.
David Miller will have to absorb the bulk of batting duties in the middle-order of RR XI without the England cricketers. Although he looked to be in good touch, he sometimes lost wickets due to basic mistakes. He will look to correct it in the remaining encounters.
All-Rounders: Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia and Chris Morris
Although Shivam Dube was dropped for the final game of RR before the tournament was suspended, the Mumbai all-rounder is likely to come back in the XI. Riyan Parag was in RR’s plans for IPL 2021 and in the absence of the Englishmen, he will have to come good.
Rahul Tewatia will be the team’s lead-spinner but could drop down the role if IPL 2021 is resumed elsewhere. He will anyways be part of the playing XI. So will Chris Morris, who did a good job of leading the young pace attack in the first phase of IPL 2021.
Bowlers: Chetan Sakariya, Kartik Tyagi and Mustafizur Rahman
The bowling line-up will wear a similar look for the next segment of IPL 2021. Both Chetan Sakariya and Mustafizur were in great form and will hold on to their spots in the playing XI. This is irrespective of where the tournament will resume.
Kartik Tyagi did not get sufficient chances in IPL 2021. However, in the game, he was part of, the rookie was in a good rhythm. That said, the likes of Shreyas Gopal and Unadkat could also compete for this spot in the XI.
