Rajasthan Royals’ success recipe: Youthful exuberance of Riyan Parag meets calm businesslike approach of seasoned hands like Sanju Samson, Trent Boult

Led by captain Sanju Samson, Rajasthan Royals have a good mix of senior talent (Trent Boult, R. Ashwin) and young players (Riyan Parag). They are also ably supported by a backroom staff helmed by Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara. (Image via X/@RajasthanRoyals)

Fourteen games into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) remain the only unbeaten teams; they are also the only two franchises who have won at home and away.

KKR have been impressive in their two victories so far, while RR have been equally dominant in stacking up a 3-0 record. Their wins have been clinical and thoroughly deserved, but they haven’t been bereft of flair or flamboyance. A combination of youthful exuberance and the calm businesslike approach of seasoned hands has driven their charge, with the promise of more glorious nights in store once the stuttering opening duo of Jos Buttler (35 runs in three innings) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (39 in three) hits its straps.

The coming of age of Riyan Parag has been the highlight of a campaign that skipper Sanju Samson said has been fuelled by ‘big people who recognize their roles’. The Guwahati-born Parag is only 22, but he is an RR ‘veteran’, having been acquired before the 2019 season for Rs 20 lakh. Despite modest early returns, RR have stuck by him and the bruising right-hander is beginning to repay the faith. This season, he has amassed 181 runs, the joint highest alongside Virat Kohli, but at a far more impressive strike-rate of 160.17 compared to the former skipper’s 141.4. In his 54 previous IPL games, Parag had just two half-centuries; he has already doubled that tally now, and while to the outside world he might not appear ‘big people’, Samson and the RR camp would say so.

Among the established ‘big people’ to have pulled their weight are the captain himself (109 runs, strike-rate 143.42), out-of-favour Indian leggie Yuzvendra Chahal (six wickets, economy 5.50) and Kiwi swing king Trent Boult (five wickets, 7.81). R. Ashwin has had a middling time with the ball but is enjoying his elevation up the batting order, while Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer and Avesh Khan are all pulling their weight.

RR have a settled look about them, courtesy legacy planning and a settled backroom staff helmed by Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara. After their unexpected heroics in 2008 when they bucked the odds and emerged triumphant in the inaugural edition, they haven’t quite been consistently serious title contenders subsequently. But they are now, make no mistake, the sum of their parts considerably greater than the whole.