With only two wins and six losses in their first eight games, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) have had a dismal start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Since the first champions now need to win their final six games of the season, their campaign may be coming to an end.
Many fans and experts are questioning the choices taken by head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Sanju Samson as a result of the Rajasthan Royals’ retention and auction plan. Several young, inexperienced players in the Royals’ roster have struggled to produce regularly this season.
The Royals’ squad selection has also drawn criticism from six-time IPL champion Ambati Rayudu,
Who claims the team overinvested in young players and described it as more of a charity gesture than a calculated attempt to win the competition this year.
“I’ve always wondered about RR because they’ve made such large investments in young people throughout the years. How have they benefited from it? Despite the fact that they haven’t won an IPL in seventeen years, they consistently act as though this is their forte. They are doing some fantastic charity with the game, but it isn’t. On Timeout, Rayudu stated, “You’re here to compete.”
You’re here to win the IPL, and teams have established strategies to achieve so, but you don’t use any of them. One year after another, you defend your own route. And you want people to join you and recognise you as a good team by providing young people from all over the world with a terrific IPL opportunity,” he continued.
I don’t believe that skill is developed in the IPL: The Boucher
Notably, the criticism of the Rajasthan team did not come solely from Ambati Rayudu. In addition to him, former South Africa great and wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher asserted that the competition is intended for players who are already finished goods rather than as a nurturing ground for new players.
Yes, I just do, and this is true for any franchise. I don’t believe that skill is developed in the IPL. It’s for a final product, I believe. No team will ever enter the IPL with the mindset, “Well, we have a team here that I think is going to do well in the next three years,” I mean. You go to auction for that,” Boucher remarked.
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