RR lost as many as 5 games this IPL after being in a seemingly winning position.
Had they managed to win those games, they would have sealed a playoff spot.
Rajasthan Royals, champions of the inaugural edition, ended their turbulent IPL 2025 campaign on a high with a comprehensive six wicket win over Chennai Super Kings at the Arun Jaitley stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
RR are currently in the ninth spot with four wins and 10 losses. If CSK win their final game against Gujarat Titans with a huge margin, the Sanju Samson-led side will be pushed to the last spot, an ignominy they endured in the 2020 edition.
RR's struggles at the middle-order, especially while chasing, was a recurring theme in IPL 2025.
They lost eight of the 10 matches while batting second, as the middle-order batters succumbed to scoreboard pressure, throwing their wickets away at crucial junctures when there was absolutely no need to play rash shots.
Bad Chasers
RR lost as many as five games this IPL after being in a seemingly winning position. They could not chase down the 189 run target set by Delhi Capitals despite having six wickets in hand and eventually lost in the Super Over after the game ended in a tie.
The other four close matches they lost were against Lucknow Super Giants (by two runs), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (by 11 runs), Kolkata Knight Riders (by 1 run) and Punjab Kings (by 10 runs).
Had they managed to win those five games, they would have sealed a playoff spot.
In fact, RR's problems began well before the commencement of the league.
They had a total purse of Rs 120 crore (Rs 1.2 billion) going into the 2025 mega auction. For retaining six players -- Skipper Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer and Sandeep Sharma -- they spent a combined amount of Rs 79 crore (Rs 790 million), leaving them with a shoe-string budget of Rs 41 crore (Rs 410 million) for filling the remaining five positions and bolstering the back-up squad.
RR's retention choices were baffling, to say the least. Two of the players offloaded by them -- Trent Boult and Jos Buttler -- currently occupy fourth and sixth places in the IPL 2025 bowling and batting charts respectively.
Moreover, they signed only six foreigners heading into the season, though the teams are allowed to have a maximum of eight overseas players in their full squad, leaving them with limited number of options to choose from.
Although RR heavily invested in English pacer Jofra Archer, and Sri Lankan tweakers Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, the trio could not live up to their billing.
The injury to skipper and their all-time top-scorer Samson at a crucial phase of the league also dealt a significant blow to RR’s playoff aspirations.
Leading from the Front
Sanju's absence left a void in the side's batting lineup and on-field leadership. Riyan Parag, who took over the captaincy, showed potential but some of his tactical decisions raised questions about his leadership abilities in the high-pressure IPL environment.
In an otherwise terrible campaign, 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who impressed everyone with his fearless batting, was one of RR's few bright spots.
One can only hope that RR will address their weaknesses and build a balanced team for the next edition.
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