Saker took the unusual step of publicly criticising his bowlers in the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney last month, revealing discord with staff over tactics.
Three consecutive defeats have more or less sealed their fate and for things to turn around for the Royals, every aspect of their game needs to improve and click for them.
Kings XI Punjab will be looking to get their campaign back on track after a couple of defeats when they lock horns with bottom-placed Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League in Indore on Sunday.
Rajasthan Royals celebrated their return to their home ground at the Sawai Mansingh stadium with a 10-run win over Delhi Daredevils in the rain-hit Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Wednesday.
Punjab Kings, who had paid Rs 10.75 crore for Maxwell in the previous auction, had released the 32-year-old following the 2020 edition in which he made 108 runs in 13 games at 15.42.
India fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat claimed a Rs 11.5 crore deal with the usually thrifty Rajasthan Royals even as South African pace ace Dale Steyn went unsold on the second day of the Indian Premier players' auction in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2020's Paisa Vasool Players.
Fast running out of time, a struggling Rajasthan Royals will hope to complete the double against Mumbai Indians in a return-leg IPL fixture and revive their campaign in Jaipur Saturday.
Mumbai Indians lock horns with an out-of-sorts Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match in which home skipper Rohit Sharma's return from injury will also be awaited, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's well-calculated half-century in challenging conditions turned out to be game-changer as Chennai Super Kings won their third match of the season with a eight-run defeat of Rajasthan Royals, in Chennai, on Sunday.
Weakened by the departure of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will have their task cut out when they lock horns with a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Saturday.
Their fate hanging in balance, a loss in the penultimate league round match may virtually sound the death knell for one of the two teams.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between CSK and Rajasthan Royals in Pune on Friday.
Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, the two franchises that returned to the IPL after serving bans in the aftermath of the 2013 spot-fixing scandal, will come face to face for the first time in the ongoing edition, keen to regain lost momentum in Pune, on Friday.
A keen contest is on the cards as Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals cross swords in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Rajasthan Royals will need to regroup quickly after a heavy loss when they face Delhi Daredevils in what will be their first IPL home game in five years at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, in Jaipur, on Wednesday.
Images from Saturday's IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, in New Delhi.
On a roll with four consecutive victories, two-time champions Mumbai Indians would look to continue the winning streak when they take on Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match, in Indore, on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians will be fretting over their team combination as they take on a marauding Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
With a new captain in place, Rising Pune Supergiants would look to make amends for a poor last season but have a tough opening battle at hand against two-time former champions Mumbai Indians.
Young Shubman Gill was back in form with an unbeaten 66 after India 'A' bowlers set the platform, dismissing South Africa 'A' for 164 on the first day of the Unofficial Test.
The R Ashwin-led Kings XI slipped to the fifth spot after suffering back-to-back losses against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively. Overall, the hosts have registered four wins from eight matches this season.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai on Saturday.
Images from Monday's IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, in Jaipur.
Shreyas Iyer, on Sunday, said that the India 'A' tour to Australia has helped him grow as a player.
India 'A' bowlers were largely ineffective, allowing Steve Smith and senior batsman Shaun Marsh to strike comfortable hundreds as Australia started their Test tour in impressive fashion in the three-day warm-up game in Mumbai on Friday.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Friday
Facing an early exit after their sixth loss in eight games, bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils, under new skipper Shreyas Iyer, will have to treat each upcoming IPL game as a virtual knock-out, starting with their clash against Rajasthan Royals, in Delhi, on Wednesday.
IMAGES from the match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals on Monday
High on confidence after one of their splendid run-chases across 10 editions, Mumbai Indians will like to continue their winning momentum against a resurgent Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
'T20 is so fast-paced that a coach can do very little from the sidelines, you need a very good captain, who can take decisions there and then.'
Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit couple of towering sixes in his 43 but once again failed as a finisher with Karnataka pipping Jharkhand by five runs in a group D league encounter of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Australian vice-captain David Warner indicated that they will not sledge in-form India skipper Virat Kohli.
Pacer Mukesh Kumar took six wickets to help Bengal beat Karnataka by 174 runs and enter the final of the Ranji Trophy for the first time in 13 years, in Kolkata, on Tuesday. Chasing 352 for victory, Karnataka were bowled out for 177 in their second innings with Mukesh taking 6-61 in 21 overs, while Ishan Porel and Akash Deep took two wickets each.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Sunday.
Having notched three straight victories after a string of losses, Mumbai Indians are looking to defeat Rajasthan Royals and inch closer to a play-offs berth when the two sides face each other in an Indian Premier League encounter in Mumbai on Sunday.
On a roll after five wins on the trot, table toppers Mumbai Indians will look to continue their domination when they clash with struggling Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League game, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
It will be a battle of youngsters with the likes of Nitish Rana, Hardik Pandya on one side and the new star in the horizon Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan with his variations on the other side.
Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn ripped apart the Rajasthan Royals bowlers to fire Kolkata Knight Riders to an emphatic eight-wicket victory in the Indian Premier League in Jaipur on Sunday.
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