Sanju Samson and his squad are gearing up for the upcoming 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League, which is all set to begin on March 26th. Ahead of the much-awaited tournament, the Royals’ Director of Cricket and Head Coach, Kumar Sangakkara, talked about the Rajasthan Royals’ squad and about what to expect from the team.
Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural winners of IPL, have endured a couple of below-par seasons in the IPL, however, with a balanced squad, the team looks all set to give a tough competition to the other teams in the next couple of months.
He also revealed the strategy that the Rajasthan-based franchise adopted in the mega-auctions. Talking about the same during an interaction in Red Bull Cricket Room, Sangakkara said:
“We know we had quite a bit of work to do in the off-season with regards to our team. I think we managed to identify the key areas which needed our attention and having had a proper process when it comes to selecting players at the auction, we managed to kind of hit the markers that we set for ourselves. I think the franchise has done an amazing job to put this exciting and strong squad together,”
Commenting on the make-up of his squad, Sangakkara hailed Ravi Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal as the two best spinners in the IPL. He also talked about how the squad has a secured depth in every department. He said:
“We’ve got the two best spinners in the IPL in terms of off-spin and leg-spin in Chahal and Ashwin. We have Boult, Prasidh, Saini, Coulter-Nile, McCoy, which makes up for a very exciting pace unit supported by of course the retentions of Yashasvi, Samson and Buttler. We have secured depth in every department, with Neesham, Mitchell and van der Dussen being exciting cricketers.”
He added: “We’ve got some really exciting and young cricketers from India as well. The main thing is that we have a very competent side. We tried to get the core right and get the right players for the roles. But now, the main thing irrespective of what the squad is, is actual match performance on the field, and how we can give everyone the freedom to go out there and perform,”
Kumar Sangakkara was also asked what the team learned from the last season’s disappointing run in the second part of the IPL 2021. Responding to this, he said:
“I think there were a lot of different reasons for that, not just one or two. Whether it was player availability, split tournament, bigger break, and not the best of match performances in terms of batting or bowling. But that is all in the past now, and that’s why the squad has changed. We are now focused on the upcoming few weeks.”
Meanwhile, the Indian Premier League is all set to kickstart from March 26th onwards with a blockbuster season opener clash between defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.
