Rajasthan Royals looks capable of reclaiming the crown it once wore

The new Impact Player rule may lessen the negative impact

Rajasthan Royals has contested the IPL final only twice. Fourteen years separated those two title-clashes.

After emerging surprise winner of the inaugural edition, the next four seasons saw Royals going out in the league stage. When Royals reached the final last year, it marked the end of a long wait for fans.

They were, however, in for a big disappointment, as Royals went down to Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans, which emerged champion in its maiden season. Yet, for a team that had not qualified for the playoffs in three previous years, making the final was an achievement to be proud of.

Ten months later, the Royals should be in a confident frame of mind as they gear up for a new season of cricket’s biggest soap opera. The unavailability of seamer Prasidh Krishna, because of injury, is a concern — he was the side’s second highest wicket-taker last year — and it would be interesting to see how the team management addresses the issue.

The new Impact Player rule may lessen the negative impact.

No replacement has been announced yet for Prasidh, and pictures of Sandeep Sharma apparently in Jaipur have got social media wondering. Obed McCoy has definitely joined the Royals camp, ending the speculation in the wake of his omission from the West Indies team for the T20I series against South Africa.

The Royals pace attack will be spearheaded by Trent Boult, the excellent left-arm quick from New Zealand who should be looking to take his 100th IPL wicket (he needs only eight more). Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav and K.M. Asif are the options for coach Kumar Sangakkara in the absence of Prasidh.