The Royals will be making a comeback in this year's IPL after they were restrained from playing the league in the preceding two years owing to betting allegations.
They took the crown in the inaugural season of the IPL back in 2008 under the leadership of legendary Aussie leg-spinner Shane Warne. The Royals don't count on too many heavy-weights and mostly rely on their youngsters to do the job. They have been following the trend of having a side packed with some inexperienced, yet talented blokes who can exhibit loads of energy in the field, and give the opposition a run for their money.
The likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Yusuf Pathan and Dhawal Kulkarni made a name for themselves playing for the franchise.
This year, the Royals are back in a new way with Aussie skipper Steve Smith to lead the side, and they have also appointed a shrewd mentor like Shane Warne. The squad from the look of it doesn't connote any alteration in the game plan as they have invested a fair amount in the youngsters and will be backing them to do the job.
Top five uncapped Indian players from the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2018:-
#5 Mahipal Lomror
The 18-year-old was a part of India's squad in the U-19 Cricket World Cup which took place in Bangladesh back in 2016. He played a hand full of first-class matches for his state Rajasthan.
He is a productive all-rounder who can strike some lusty blows towards the latter part of the innings, and his left arm orthodox spin is also effectual during the middle overs. He was a part of the Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2016 but didn't get an opportunity to showcase his talent out in the middle. This year he'll certainly be a contender for the all-rounder's slot for the Rajasthan Royals, and he is likely to get an opportunity at some stage
#4 Prashant Chopra
The 25-year-old was a part of the Indian U-19 side which won the U-19 Cricket World Cup in 2012 under the captaincy of Unmukt Chand. He is a prolific opening batsman and has scored tons of runs in First-class cricket playing for Himachal Pradesh.
He is someone who is renowned for playing some sizeable knocks once he gets his eye in and he even bagged a triple hundred against Punjab in his home ground Dharamsala in 2017-18 Ranji Season.
This year he'll undoubtedly be a candidate for the opening slot in case of injuries, and can well be a part of the playing eleven at some stage of the tournament.
#3 Shreyas Gopal
The 24-year-old leg-spinning all-rounder from Karnataka has already played 6 IPL matches for the Mumbai Indians and didn't perform too badly. He is a familiar face in the Karnataka Ranji Squad and picked 150 plus wickets for his side. He doesn't trust in giving the ball a lot of air and mostly bank on his googly and the straighter one to get the breakthroughs.
He is convincing with the bat as well and can chip in with some runs in the middle-order. He has already bagged 4 first-class hundreds and will be a utility player for the Rajasthan Royals.
#3 Krishnappa Gowtham
The off-spinning all-rounder from Karnataka is credible in the shortest format of the game. The off-spinner believes in bowling an immaculate line and has got a matchless economy rate of 7.06 in domestic T20 games. Not only with the ball, he is pretty handy with the bat as well striking at 159.79 and can smack a few mighty blows towards the end of the innings.
In the last couple of years, he has made a lot of advancement and has been a part of India A side. He was a part of the Mumbai Indians squad in IPL 2017 but didn't get to play a game. This year with the form he has been in, he is almost a certainty in the playing eleven of the Rajasthan Royals.
#1 Rahul Tripathi
The 27-year-old right-handed opening batsman from Jharkhand had an incredible IPL last year playing for the Rising Pune Supergiants. He opened the innings for the RPS in almost every occasion and got them off to a start more often than not.
He is a belligerent hitter who is not afraid of striking the ball in the air and can take full toll of the first 6 overs of field restrictions. He scored runs at an impressive strike rate of 146.44 with a decent average of 27.93 which consists of 2 half-centuries as well.
This year, he is anticipated partnering Ajinkya Rahane at the top of the order and will look to get the Royals off to a decent start.
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