Dubai: Can Shane Watson, as the new captain of Rajasthan Royals, steer the team to the championship title in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year? This is the question on all of their fans’ minds after they were runners-up to Mumbai Indians in 2013.
After last year’s near miss, the team management has retained Sanju Samson, Ajinkya Rahane, Watson, James Faulkner and Stuart Binny.
The Royals also have a trio of players who have sparkled in Under-19 World Cups and who promise to be India’s future stars — former India Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand, wicketkeeper-opening batsmen Ankush Bains and all-rounder Deepak Hooda.
They also spent heavily on players like Steven Smith, Tim Southee, Rajat Bhatia and Kane Richardson to ensure a stronger line-up. They now have eight internationals and 10 capped players on their 25-strong roster.
Watson will have his job made easy because Rahul Dravid, the man who led Rajasthan last year, will be playing the role of team mentor.
What Watson will need to excel is the support of his teammates. Rahane has given Watson good support with consistent scores at the top of the batting order, while fellow Australian Brad Hodge is a player who can accelerate the run-rate under any amount of pressure.
Samson, their most promising batsman, will get huge support in the UAE as many expatriates from his state of Kerala and even home city of Thiruvananthapuram live here. Few will have forgotten Samson’s creditable batting performances in the last edition of the IPL and fans here recently enjoyed his batting exploits in the Under-19 Asia Cup and World Cup tournaments.
With UAE wickets likely to assist the spinners, Rajasthan have two of the finest in Amit Mishra, who displayed splendid form during the recent World Twenty20, and Smith.
A good performance could also lift the sagging spirits of Australian James Faulkner, who became the centre of criticism during the World Twenty20 following his statement that he does not like the West Indies ahead of his country’s loss to the islanders.
Rajasthan have a reputation of being a team who performs well despite being unfancied and this trait is attributed to the leadership skills that get the best out of their players. First it was Shane Warne as leader, then Dravid, so the expectations on Watson are very high.
