IPL 2023 mini auction: 2 players who can be the surprise retentions of Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals won the first ever season of Indian Premier League a decade and a half ago
Rajasthan Royals were the first-ever champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) way back in 2008, but after winning the inaugural season of the league, they lost their way for a long time and struggled to even make it to the playoffs consistently in the last decade.
However, during the last IPL, after assembling a new team in the mega auction, Rajasthan Royals showed the old spark again under the captaincy of Sanju Samson and they made it to the final of the tournament before losing against the Gujarat Titans.
Now ahead of the next IPL mini-auction, which will be held in mid-December, Rajasthan Royals might retain most of their players from the last year’s squad. The list, however, might also have some surprise retentions.
Here are the 2 players who can be the surprise retentions of Rajasthan Royals –
Daryl Mitchell
Rajasthan gave the New Zealand international Daryl Mitchell a couple of look-ins last season, but batting at a crucial position of no. 5, Mitchell couldn’t leave a mark, and later when he was used with the ball, the Kiwi allrounder wasn’t impressive in that facet of the game either.
On the basis of last year’s performance, Rajasthan might have thought about releasing Mitchell, but Mitchell has actually shown great form in international cricket across all formats in the last few months and his international form might prompt the Rajasthan management to retain him for next year’s IPL.
Navdeep Saini
Navdeep Saini, only a couple of years back, was regarded as one of the most promising youngsters to have come out of India’s domestic circuit, but his career graph came down quite drastically after the COVID pandemic and he struggled to find a place in the playing XI of Rajasthan Royals during last IPL.
However, Saini recently went to play some county cricket and showed improvements in his game there, while playing for Kent County Cricket Club. Because of the fact that he has got some pace and he has also got age by his side, Rajasthan Royals might like to go ahead with Saini in the next IPL season again.
