Rajasthan royals

By the time 2013 came, they were struggling on the field and off it. Midway through the 2013 season, three of the RR cricketers were arrested by the police for an alleged spot-fixing scandal: Ajit Chandila, S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, and the whole affair put the franchise’s future in jeopardy.

Following this scandal, the franchise was banned from playing in the IPL for two years. In 2018, the team returned under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane and finished fourth. The franchise had the likes of Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat, for whom they had broken the bank.

In 2019, Steve Smith returned to the IPL after a one-year ban for his involvement in the Sandpapergate scandal. He was named the skipper midway through the season after the Ajinkya-led team struggled in the first half. However, the captaincy switch didn’t change the fortunes, as they finished seventh. 

A new era began in 2021, with Sanju Samson being named captain. He formed a solid partnership with Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara, and the team reached the finals in 2022.

RR has created a core of group players like Sanju, Jos Buttler, and Yuzvendra Chahal. The franchise retained these key players alongside youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, etc., before the 2023 edition. 

However, the management did apply the trial-and-error method in creating this core. Some of the franchise’s failed experiments include Unadkat, Stokes, and Chris Morris, for whom they splashed a lot of money. 

The Royals finished runner-up in the 2022 season, while they missed out on the playoffs after a promising start in the 2023 edition.