Day 2 of the auction was when most of the uncapped players were presented for bidding. While cricket legend Rahul Dravid mentored Rajasthan Royals made some intelligent and interesting purchases in Rajat Bhatia, Unmukt Chand, Karun Nair, Dhawal Kulkarni and Iqbal Abdulla; they also, wisely, retained some former players like Praveen Tambe, Kevon Cooper, Dishant Yagnik and Vikramjeet Malik.
Amongst all the 'new' players who were brought into Rajasthan Royals it was the purchase of Rajat Bhatia, bought after a bidding war with Kolkata Knight Riders, which I felt was the best. He is a very handy all-rounder and was used by his former captain Gautam Gambhir, in the Kolkata Knight Riders, as a bowler who could throw down 4 economical overs, break partnerships if required, and score 16-20 important runs in the death overs while coming down the order. He is an experienced and a competitive player and was, in a way, the go-to guy for Gautam Gambhir in the Kolkata Knight Riders' 2012 and 2013 Indian Premier League campaigns !
Another 'new' buy which I found interesting was Unmukt Chand. A very talented cricketer, he was the captain of the victorious U-19 Indian Cricket Team which won the 2012 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Australia.
The purchase of Dhawal Kulkarni was also a decent decision but I felt that this was in response to the inability of Rajasthan Royals to purchase Rishi Dhawan, the highest wicket taker in Ranji Trophy this year, as there was a fierce bidding war between the Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and the Mumbai Indians. He was ultimately won by Kings XI Punjab.
Amongst the former players who were retained, I was really happy to see Tambe, Malik, Yagnik and Cooper; all of whom having contributed to the almost successful 2013 Indian Premier League Season and a fabulous run in 2013 Champions League T20.
All in all the auction went satisfactorily for Rajasthan Royals who did manage to induct good players into the squad despite not being able to get the first choice players on many occasions (but then it was the same for all other teams, wasn't it ?!).
In the end one is left thinking what would have happened if we could've included (the explosive) Glenn Maxwell, (the accurate) Rishi Dhawan and (the fast) Nathan Coulter-Nile, all consistent players, in our squad ?! Perhaps, victory in the 2014 IPL Season !!
Only time will tell how good the current squad really is, on the field.. Till then.. Halla Bol..
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