With a decent season on a comeback last year, the Rahane-led Royals are looking forward to ending this season on a high note.
With the return of Steve Smith, the squad looks balanced and the batting has strengthened even more with the line-up consisting of Buttler, Rahane, Samson and Stokes.
They retained the same players who represented them last year but the energy around the camp is good comparing last year.
Strength:
1. All rounding capabilities of Stokes, Gowtham, Gopal and Archer ensure they bat deep and they have adequate bowling options.
2. Buttler currently is in the form of his life and he is expected to carry the team from the front just like he did in the last year.
3. Rahul Tripathi had a good season on the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali t20 tournament and is expected to do the same here.
Weakness:
1. Though royals have two spin bowling all-rounders in Gowtham and Gopal, they lack the quality of being the lead spinner of the team.
2. They rely more on their foreign players and once the world cup knocks the door they are gonna be left all alone, like what happened last year when Buttler and Stokes went near the playoffs stage.
3. Lack of backups to replace players in the playing XI is another major threat. Injuries can damage the team combination in the first place.
PROBABLE XI
Rahul Tripathi
Jos Butler (wk) ✈
Steve Smith ✈
Ajinkya Rahane (c)
Sanju Samson
Ben Stokes ✈
Krishnappa Gowtham
Shreyas Gopal
Jofra Archer ✈
Jaydev Unadkat
Varun Aaron / Dhawal Kulkarni
