Rajasthan Royals signed West Indian all-rounder Jason Holder for INR 5.75 crore in the IPL 2023 mini-auction on Friday (December 23). They also signed star Australian spinner Adam Zampa at his base price of INR 1.5 million and South African batsman Donovan Ferreira at a price of INR 50 lakh to cover all possible areas ahead of the 2023 season. They ended the day with the surprise signing of former England captain Joe Root at a base price of 1 million INR.
The IPL 2022 runners-up made their first bid during the IPL 2023 auction for England batter Harry Brook but lost out to Sunrisers Hyderabad with only INR 13.2 million available in their purse. Royals’ next bid for Jason Holder, who plays for Barbados Royals in the CPL, was beaten by Chennai Super Kings with a winning bid of INR 5.75 crore.
Royals also opened bidding for Sam Curran, Ben Stokes, Nicholas Pooran, Shivam Mavi and Mayank Dagar but were beaten by competitors due to their low budget purse. But in the accelerated round, they managed to get South African batsman Donovan Ferreira for INR 50 lakhs who will be a quality replacement option for Samson and Buttler.
They also signed Kunal Rathore, a 20-year-old batsman from Rajasthan, at a base price of INR 20 lakhs. In the latest accelerated round, Royals were one of the busiest sides signing Murugan Ashwin, KM Asif, Akash Vashisht and Abdul PA at their base price. The Royals surprised everyone by signing Root in the last accelerated round at a base price of INR 1 crore, who went unsold in the main round.
Rajasthan Royals had the third lowest purse of INR 13.2 crore going into the 2023 auction despite releasing nine players. However, they have managed to retain key players and have not been under any pressure to make major changes to their squad from the 2022 season, having enjoyed their best IPL season since winning the title in 2008.
Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal formed a strong top-order for Rajasthan but the middle-order with Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag was average given their performances last season. Royals definitely needed a batting all-rounder as competition for Parag when they released Jimmy Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Daryl Mitchell. Jason Holder fits the Royals profile and costs just INR 5.75 crore.
Last season, Rajasthan Royals were impressive with a balanced bowling unit with Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Sen. Back-up pace options Obed McCoy and Navdeep Saini were also retained but Royals lacked back-up spin options. The signings of Adam Zampa and Murugan Ashwin will definitely boost their spin department as the Royals prepare for IPL 2023 with a 25-man squad.
Contents
Rajasthan Royals Final Squad:
Sanju Samson (c & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa, Jason Holder, Donovan Ferreira (wk), Kunal Rathore, Adam Zampa, KM Asif, Murugan Ashwin, Akash Vashisht, Abdul PA, Joe Root.
RR Squad 2023 Retained Players List, Roles & Price Details:
RR retention players:
| PLAYER | ROLE | PRICE |
| Sanju Samson | Batsman/Wicket-keeper | 14 Crore |
| Jos Buttler | Batsman | 10 Crore |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | Batsman | 4 Crore |
| R. Ashwin | Bowler | 5 crore |
| Trent Boult | Bowler | 8 crore |
| Shimron Hetmyer | Batsman | 8.5 crore |
| Devdutt Padikkal | Batsman | 7.75 crore |
| Riyan Parag | All-Rounder | 3.8 crore |
| KC Cariappa | Bowler | 30 lakh |
| Sandeep Sharma | Bowler | 50 lakh |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | Bowler | 6.5 crore |
| Navdeep Saini | Bowler | 2.6 crore |
| Obed McCoy | Bowler | 75 lakh |
| Kuldeep Sen | Bowler | 20 lakh |
| Dhruv Jurel | Batsman/Wicket-keeper | 20 lakh |
| Kuldip Yadav | Bowler | 20 lakh |
Rajasthan Royals (RR) Team 2023 players list:
| PLAYER | ROLE | PRICE |
| Sanju Samson | Batsman/Wicket-keeper | 14 Crore |
| Jos Buttler | Batsman | 10 Crore |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | Batsman | 4 Crore |
| R. Ashwin | Bowler | 5 crore |
| Trent Boult | Bowler | 8 crore |
| Shimron Hetmyer | Batsman | 8.5 crore |
| Devdutt Padikkal | Batsman | 7.75 crore |
| Riyan Parag | All-Rounder | 3.8 crore |
| KC Cariappa | Bowler | 30 lakh |
| Sandeep Sharma | Bowler | 50 lakh |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | Bowler | 6.5 crore |
| Navdeep Saini | Bowler | 2.6 crore |
| Obed McCoy | Bowler | 75 lakh |
| Kuldeep Sen | Bowler | 20 lakh |
| Dhruv Jurel | Batsman/Wicket-keeper | 20 lakh |
| Kuldip Yadav | Bowler | 20 lakh |
| Jason Holder | All-Rounder | 5.75 crore |
| Donovan Ferreira | All-Rounder | 50 lakh |
| Kunal Rathore | Wicket-keeper | 20 lakh |
| Adam Zampa | Bowler | 1.5 crore |
| KM Asif | Bowler | 30 lakh |
| Murugan Ashwin | Bowler | 20 lakh |
| Akash Vashisht | All-Rounder | 20 lakh |
| Abdul PA | All-Rounder | 20 lakh |
| Joe Root | Batsman | 1 crore |
Squad Strength – 25 (Indian-17, Overseas-8)
Purse Remaining – 3.35 Cr
