IPL 2025: 5 Auction Blunders by Rajasthan Royals (RR)

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) had a strong start to IPL 2025, dominating the early phase with consistent performances. However, they lost momentum in the second half, eventually becoming the second team, after Chennai Super Kings, to crash out of the playoff race. The dip in form has raised serious questions about their squad depth and balance.

RR spent heavily to retain their core, with Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer getting INR 14 and 11 crores respectively. Despite a solid foundation, cracks began to appear in key areas overlooked during the auction. Dubious signings and missed opportunities have now put RR’s auction strategy under scrutiny.

Here are five major blunders RR made in the IPL 2025 auction:

1. Poor spinners chosen after releasing Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin

RR made a huge mistake by not retaining either Chahal or Ashwin—two of the most consistent and experienced spinners in IPL history. Chahal took 66 wickets in three seasons for RR, while Ashwin claimed 35. Both provided middle-overs control and big breakthroughs.

Their replacements, Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, failed to deliver the same impact, weakening RR’s spin department significantly. They have done well to take 11 and 10 wickets respectively, but didn’t have the killer impact as their predecessors.

2. No Reliable Indian Finishing Batter

After retaining expensive players and spending big on bowlers, RR had a limited budget left to secure a solid Indian finisher. They brought in Kunal Rathore and Shubham Dubey, but both lacked consistency and impact. Dubey showed flashes of brilliance, while Rathore barely featured.

Though Nitish Rana was acquired, he is a top-order batter. As a result, there was no domestic partner for Hetmyer in the death overs—a planning flaw that hurt them in close games.

3. Poor Fast Bowling Strategy

Letting go of Trent Boult was a major setback. RR picked up Jofra Archer, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Akash Madhwal, while retaining Sandeep Sharma. Archer did well with the new ball but lacked effective support at the death.

Limited auction funds forced them to miss out on death-over specialists like Deepak Chahar and Harshal Patel—bowlers who could have made a significant difference in crunch moments.

4. Releasing Jos Buttler

RR shocked fans by releasing Jos Buttler, who had scored over 3500 runs at a strike rate above 150, including four centuries in IPL 2022 alone. He had been their go-to match-winner in multiple seasons.

To offer big contracts to Jurel, Parag, and Hetmyer, RR sacrificed their most aggressive overseas opener. They didn’t find a suitable replacement, and when Sanju Samson was injured, they were forced to play makeshift openers—damaging their starts and momentum.

5. No Overseas Middle-Order Support for Hetmyer

By retaining Shimron Hetmyer for INR 11 crores, RR seemed to expect him to anchor the middle order and finish games on his own. With top-order collapses becoming common, Hetmyer had too much to do without backup.

He failed to deliver in key moments, including two games where RR couldn’t chase 9 runs in the final over, one of which went to a Super Over. The lack of overseas firepower in the middle order was a costly oversight.

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