New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) The Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 but they have not been able to match their performance in the next four editions.
After a decent start to the 2012 edition, they ended up losing more matches than they won. However, captain Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane, surprisingly, came out as a successful opening pair providing good starts for the team in most matches.
With the purchase of Aussie James Faulkner, Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera and West Indian Fidel Edwards, the Jaipur-based team can look forward to test the best sides in the tourney.
One must not forget Shane Watson, who was the player of the tournament in 2008, who will be available for the entire 2013 season and will be a player to watch out for. Much is also expected from slow chinaman bowler Brad Hogg, who at 42, is the oldest player in the tournament.
New recruits: James Faulkner, Fidel Edwards, Kushal Perera, Harmeet Singh, Sachin Baby, Rahul Shukla and Sanju Samson.
Players to watch out for: Rahul Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Bradley Hodge.
The squad: Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, Shaun Tait, Bradley Hodge, Brad Hogg, Kevon Cooper, Owais Shah, S. Sreesanth, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Menaria, Stuart Binny, Siddharth Trivedi, Ankeet Chavan, Dishant Yagnik, Shreevats Goswami, Ajith Chandila, Samuel Badree, Harmeet Singh, James Faulkner, Fidel Edwards, Kushal Perera, Sachin Baby, Sanju Samson, Rahul Shukla, Pravin Tambe.
