Rajasthan Royals (RR) are all set to open their IPL 2023 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday (April 2).

Ahead of the game, RR head coach Kumar Sangakkara addressed a press conference, where he said that the franchise’s new recruit Joe Root has a role to play as his overall game against spin, pace and abilities as an off-spinner is valuable for the team.

“Joe Root is a great player. He is an all-format player. He had a great T20 outing here in India where they lost to West Indies in the final (2016 T20 World Cup) and a great outing in UAE as well (ILT20). He has a role to play for us, be it in the start or specific matches. We value his overall game against spin and pace and the fact that he is a smart offspinner. There are quite a few aspects of his game that will come in handy for us," said Sangakkara in a pre-match presser.

The ‘Impact Player’ rule has made headlines in the lead-up to the IPL 2023 season. As per the rule, each team can nominate as many as 5 substitute players along with their playing XI after the toss. One of them can replace a member from the original XI during the match and the player will be called Impact Player. However, teams can’t replace a player with a foreign recruit if they have already picked 4 overseas cricketers in the XI.

 Sharing his views on the aforementioned rule, Sangakkara said: "Being clear as to who do you want as an impact player, when do you want to use, whether he gives you the advantage is the key. We have discussed on it. Hopefully, we will get it right, there are no guarantees. As the tournament goes on, sides will get more used to using the best players for it."

Sangakkara said RR had a great last season but this is a new edition with new players.

"It is about settling down to play good cricket from the start and execute really well on the field," said the coach.

Last year, the Royals lost to debutant Gujarat Titans by seven wickets in the IPL final.

(With ANI Inputs)