IPL 2021: 5 players RR should release ahead of the auction

A shellacking at the hands of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the final league game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 saw the Rajasthan Royals (RR) finish with the wooden spoon for the season. In a season where they had glaring issues of team composition and balance, RR were never really in the hunt despite having the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, Jofra Archer, in their ranks.

Rahul Tewatia followed up his brilliant underdog performance with a few more heartening all-round efforts to cement his place in RR's plans for next season. The team cannot do without Archer or Jos Buttler and seem to rely heavily on Ben Stokes' occasional brilliance despite his weak overall IPL record. Shreyas Gopal and Kartik Tyagi, too, should hold down their place.

However, there were certain departments where RR had huge disappointments, apart from collectively failing in a few games. Here are the five players RR should release ahead of the auction.

---

#5 Varun Aaron (IPL 2019-2020)

Varun Aaron's stocks as an Indian pacer seem to be on the decline.

RR signed former India pacer Varun Aaron in the 2019 auctions to support their misfiring pace bowling unit. The 31-year old set RR back by INR 2.4 crore, without really having a solid IPL track record to boast of - barring 16 wickets in 10 games in 2014, Aaron has never bagged more than 10 wickets in any season.

In 2020, RR desperately cycled through their fast bowling reserves as all of them conceded runs at astronomical economy rates. Aaron endured three wicketless games this IPL season, with a poor economy rate of 11.75. It remains to be seen if franchises will show interest in the pacer who has done little to demand a high bid.

---

#4 Andrew Tye (IPL 2020)

Andrew Tye's reputation has fallen off a cliff since the 2018 IPL.

A breathtaking start to his IPL career - a fifer for the Gujarat Lions - seems a distant reality for Andrew Tye ahead of the 2021 IPL Auction. After a good debut season, Tye won the Purple Cap with 24 wickets in 2018, as one of the lone shining lights in Kings XI Punjab's dismal campaign.

Since then, Tye has been extremely expensive, with his variations exposed and his pace and accuracy insufficient at times. In the 2020 season, Tye played just once, getting carted for 50 runs in his four overs. Not hot property for the national team anymore, Tye will struggle to find takers next season.

#3 Tom Curran (IPL 2020)

Tom Curran has struggled in his IPL career thus far.

Although his younger brother Sam was the talk of the town for his stellar all-round performances, England bowling all-rounder Tom Curran had a difficult IPL outing - as has been the trend internationally in recent times. Starting his IPL career as Mitchell Starc's replacement at the Kolkata Knight Riders, Curran was snagged by RR in 2020 for his base price.

Curran was lucky to get a few opportunities at the start of the season in Ben Stokes' absence but squandered them. A fifty with the bat in a big loss to the Knight Riders was all he could be proud of, as he picked up just three wickets at an economy rate of 11.44 in the season. Though IPL franchises might want someone with Curran's skills, RR would want to look past him for more promising and consistent pacemen.

---

#2 Robin Uthappa (IPL 2020)

Robin Uthappa endured another poor IPL season with the bat.

Once a bedrock of the Kolkata Knight Riders batting unit, Robin Uthappa was unceremoniously released after a miserable season with the bat in 2019. He notoriously compiled a 47-ball 40 as KKR slumped to defeat in a critical league game. Brought in to serve in an unfamiliar position - the middle order - for RR, it was anybody's guess that Uthappa would struggle.

An inspired move to shift him to his preferred opening spot briefly yielded dividends, as Uthappa's strike rate rose. However, it was too little, too late for RR, as they slumped to their first bottom finish in IPL history. Close to becoming an IPL discard, it remains to be seen if Uthappa will have any takers next season.

---

#1 Steve Smith (IPL 2018-2020)

Smith failed as a batsman and leader in 2020.

One of RR's pillars before and after their two-year suspension from the IPL, Steve Smith, had to endure another year off due to the "Sandpapergate" scandal. Appointed as their captain taking over from Ajinkya Rahane, Smith has been unable to inspire the franchise or replicate his 2017 efforts with the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant.

Though Smith, like RR, started the 2020 IPL season well, his form tapered off as he found himself getting dismissed early more often than not. He only added one fifty to the ones he hit in the first two games, as RR once again became over-reliant on Jos Buttler at the top. Teams at the bottom tend to make big decisions, and given the hefty INR 12.5 crore investment in Smith, RR might not be too far away from one.