Rajasthan Royals Captain List for Indian Premier League 2022

Rajasthan Royals Captain List (2008-2022)

The ‘Royals’ of the Indian Premier League 2022 are the inaugural winners of the tournament (2008) led by the mercurial Shane Warne back then.

The feat was so magnanimous that no one gave them a chance to win but with the mixture of youth & experience, Rajasthan Royals lifted their first silverware.

Their policy has always been giving chance to the youth and that’s the reason why you see Sanju Samson leading the charge in the Indian Premier League 2022 season.

Brief Introduction:

The franchise, which was previously owned by Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty and her biz husband Raj Kundra, was one of the least expensive sides in the league’s early days.

However, controversies struck the Royals outfit more than once and led to their 2-year expulsion from the league and a lifetime ban on the ownership.

However, post their return the Royals had a fresh outlook to their side with the arrivals of English superstars like Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes. Starting from Shane Warne to Sanju Samson.

We take a look at Rajasthan Royals’ Captain list as they gear up for the upcoming Indian Premier League 2022:

Sanju Samson (2021-At Present)

Sanju Samson has been around the Indian cricketing scene for a while now and was earmarked by Rahul Dravid to achieve something great in the coming years.

And so he did. Samson was part of the Royals setup since 2013 season and was brought back to the side in the 2018 auction for Rs. 8 crores.

After a lot of thinking in the management side, they handed him the captaincy in the 2021 season.

Before the Covid-19 struck the league, Samson’s bat did all the talk as the amassed 277 runs at a strike rate of 146. However, Samson’s remarkable batting form couldn’t hit their team as they lost 4 out of the 7 games that season.

Ajinkya Rahane (2018-2019)

Rajasthan management wanted someone of the ilk of Dravid to lead their young squad and thus they opted for India’s top batter, Ajinkya Rahane.

The Mumbai-born was appointed as the skipper in 2018 and did a decent job as they reached the play-offs but lost out to Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator.

Rahane led the squad in 2019 for the first eight games before being sacked after some poor performances. Rahane led RR in 24 games winning 9 and losing 15. He scored 2810 runs at an average of 34.3.

Steve Smith (2014-2020)

One of the cricketing world’s flying star, Steve Smith was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs. 4 crores in the 2014 mega auction.

Smith was a stand-in for the absentee Shane Watson. The Aussie batsman led the side in the first four games of the Indian Premier League 2015 season as well.

Back to the fore in 2018, Smith was retained by the management but missed the season. However, he took over the leadership reins halfway in the 2019 Season but returned full-fledged the following year.

His ‘sandpaper’ controversy didn’t help things as he was expelled from the side. Steve Smith led the Royals in 27 games by winning 15 and losing 11 in the process.

As a batter, Smith scored over a 1000 runs at an average of 30.6.

Shane Watson (2008-2015)

The Aussie all-rounder was awarded the player of the tournament in their inaugural victory, scoring 472 runs & scalping 17 wickets along the way.

Watson was RR’s skipper for one match during the 2008 season when Shane Warne was rested prior to the semis.

However, 2014 season saw the Aussie handed over the leadership reins for the full season. However, the net run-rate made it impossible for them to finish in the top 4 however they achieved that feat in the 2015 season.

Watson’s journey ended with Royals when the Rajasthan outfit were banned for 2 years. In all, Watson captained the side in 21 games, winning 7 and losing 11.

He scored 2372 runs at a marvellous strike rate of 142 and picked up 61 wickets too!

Rahul Dravid (2012-2013)

Rajasthan Royals turned their eyes to former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid to lead them and bring back the glory days when they purchased the Bangalore-born for Rs. 2.3 Crores in 2011.

Post the retirement of Shane Warne, the management thought it was in the best interest of the franchise to hand over the reins to none other than Indian cricket’s biggest icon, Rahul ‘the Wall’ Dravid.

Rajasthan Royals finished seventh in 2012 but had a great season the following year when they finished third in the table.

What’s more, Royals also made it to the Champions League 2013 as well. The former skipper had a great influence on the youngsters at Rajasthan Royals and was highly praised from all cricketing corners.

All in all, Dravid led the Royals in 40 games, winning 23 and losing 17. Also, in his short stint at RR, he amassed 1276 runs at an average of 29.7.

Shane Warne (2008 – 2011)

Rajasthan Royals were blessed when they started off their Indian Premier League journey under the leadership of cricketing icon, Shane Warne back in 2008.

Warne who hardly got a chance to lead his national side on the international front, grabbed this opportunity by both hands as Rajasthan Royals paid USD 450,000 for his services.

The huge money paid off for the owners as Warne’s apt leadership and astute man management skills saw them lift the inaugural trophy in 2008.

It was Shane Warne who backed the management to give a chance to Ravindra Jadeja as well as Yusuf Pathan.

In the final, RR beat MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in a last ball thriller to win the tournament.

However, the following years were not so kind on Warne as he saw his side falter in the league by finishing sixth and seventh in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Shane Warne and RR had an unbreakable bond which saw the former retained in the 2011 auction as well.

However, Rajasthan Royals were not up to the mark in that season and the Aussie spinner decided to hang up his boots too from all forms of cricket.

Under the Aussie legend, Rajasthan Royals played a total of 55 matches, which saw them win 30 & lose 24. The spinner also scalped 57 wickets at an economy of 7.27.

Conclusion:

With Samson at the helm, Rajasthan would hope the biligerent batter hits top form yet again.

With the inclusion of Ashwin as well, RR would hope they would go all the way this season and bring back the glory of 2008 and do it for Shane Warne himself!

Disclaimer – The above article is for informational purpose only. We at AIO Games are nowhere related to BCCI or the IPL