The IPL 2023 will begin on March 31 and the excitement has already begun to build as the fans have begun mulling over their favorite franchises and their possible playing combinations. The tournament will return to its home and away-format after three years.
This means each franchise will play 7 games at their home ground and 7 at the other franchise’s home. Rajasthan Royals, who made it into the finals of the IPL 2022 where they came second to Gujarat Titans, will look forward to forming a fortress at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur.
The IPL 2023 auction was a success for Rajasthan Royals as their most expensive buy at the event was West Indian all-rounder Jason Holder. They needed someone to take the vacant spot of a pace bowling all-rounder vacated by Ben Stokes who sat out of the IPL 2022.
Apart from Holder, RR also got Adam Zampa and Joe Root for their base prices and with a settled core team, have the option to mix and match according to the conditions throughout the IPL 2023.
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Keeping this in mind, here is the COC Predicted best playing XI for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023
The combination of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler did wonders for the RR team in IPL 2022 and expect the left-right combination to continue in IPL 2023 as well. They will also hope for Buttler to repeat his feat from IPL 15 as he scored over 800 runs and made 4 centuries.
Devdutt Padikkal should be a permanent no.3 in the RR XI to be followed by skipper Sanju Samson, who will have a lot to prove given that it is a World Cup year for India and with some players struggling in the national team, Samson can impress the selectors with his performance with the bat.
RR might also think of slotting Joe Root somewhere in the middle if needed to provide stability to the batting order as the former England captain has shown improvement in his T20 batting game.
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Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag formed a deadly duo at the death for RR, but they were handicapped without much support from others in the lower order. While R Ashwin provided some relief with the bat, this time RR has Jason Holder to hit some lusty blows down the order and maybe also provide support to the pacers in the team.
As for spinners, RR is spoiled for choices in R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, M Ashwin, and Adam Zampa to choose from. Ashwin and Chahal formed a formidable bowling duo in middle overs with support from Parag.
As for the pacers, Trent Boult is expected to lead the attack with the likes of Kuldeep Sen, Obed McCoy, and Navdeep Saini for support. With Saini fit and raring to go, expect him to be considered over Sen.
COC predicted best playing XI for Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2023:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (C-WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini
