New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals had core of their squad sorted even before the Indian Premier League mega auction began. Having retained skipper Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel, they only bid for players for specific positions at the two-day mega auction that concluded in Jeddah on Monday.
With presence of multiple power hitters, the Rahul Dravid coaches side concentrated on strengthening their bowling unit. As a result, they bet big for England pacer Jofra Archer.
The right arm tearaway has been bogges down by injuries in the last couple of years but not that he is fit, Rajasthan splurged Rs 12.5 crore for him while also strengthening the spin bowling unit with Sri Lankan duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana.
Hasaranga was bought for Rs 5.25 crore while for Theekshana Royals spent Rs 4.4 crore. It was at Royals that Archer became the most valuable player in 2020 and they had no hesitation to bring him back.
The Royals also brought in veteran Nitish Rana for Rs 4.2 crore to shore up their middle order, after shaking off interest from Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Apart from Archer, Rajasthan aslo roped in Tushar Deshpande for Rs 6.50 crore while also making headlines for agreeing to spend Rs 1.10 crore 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, making him the youngest player ever in the tournament’s history at 13 years and 243 days.
Players bought by Rajasthan Royals at IPL mega auction:
1. Jofra Archer – Rs 12.5 crore
2. Maheesh Theekshana – Rs 4.4 crore
3. Wanindu Hasaranga – Rs 5.25 crore
4. Akash Madhwal – Rs 1.2 crore
5. Kumar Kartikeya – Rs 30 lakh
6. Nitish Rana – Rs 4.40 crore
7. Tushar Deshpande – Rs 6.50 crore
8. Shubham Dubey – Rs 80 lakh
9. Yudhvir Singh – Rs 35 lakh
10. Fazalhaq Farooqi – Rs 2 crore
11. Vaibhav Suryavanshi – Rs 1.1 crore
12. Kwena Maphaka – Rs 1.5 crore
13. Kunal Rathore – Rs 30 lakh
14. Ashok Sharma – Rs 30 lakh
Retained players
Sanju Samson
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Riyan Parag
Sandeep Sharma
Shimron Hetmyer
Dhruv Jurel
With presence of multiple power hitters, Rajasthan Royals concentrated on strengthening their bowling unit at IPL 2025 mega auction Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
