New Delhi . Rajasthan Royals (RR) are going to retain Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Sandeep Sharma. While according to information received by ESPN Cricinfo, England's limited overs captain Jos Buttler and Indian legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal will not be included in the retention list, but RR can use the right to match for both of them in the mega auction.
According to the information, the franchise is also planning to retain another wicketkeeper batsman of RR, Dhruv Jurel. Jurel was signed by RR for Rs 20 lakh during the 2022 auction. Since then, Jurel has been in the regular XI of RR and then at the beginning of this year, Jurel also made his Test debut for India. Jurel, who bats mostly in the lowermiddle order for RR, has scored 347 runs in 22 IPL innings at a strike rate of 151.52.
Although it is not yet known which player will be retained with how much amount, but RR will have to spend at least Rs 47 crore from its purse of Rs 120 crore to retain four players. After bringing back the old uncapped rule of IPL, Sandeep can also be retained as an uncapped player, because Sandeep has not played international cricket for the last five years. If Jurel is also included in the retention list, then RR's purse will be reduced by Rs 65 crore which will mean that they will have only Rs 55 crore in the mega auction.
Samson, Parag and Sandeep played important roles in taking RR to the IPL 2024 playoffs. While Samson and Parag were among the top runscorers for RR last season, Sandeep took 13 wickets at an economy of 8.18. However, the last season was not special for Jaiswal, where he scored 435 runs at a strike rate of 152. Whereas before that in IPL 2023, Jaiswal had scored 625 runs at a strike rate of 163.6.
Buttler and Chahal were Orange Cap and Purple Cap winners in IPL 2022, the last time RR made it to the IPL final. Buttler, who is known as RR's reliable batsman, had a disappointing season last season where he scored only 359 runs at a strike rate of 141. Currently, he is not playing for England due to injury, he last played an international match in the 2024 T20 World Cup when England lost to India in the semifinals.
RR had roped in Chahal for Rs 6.5 crore in the 2022 auction. Last season, Chahal took 18 wickets at an economy of 9.41 and played as an impact player whenever RR batted first.
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.