The first month of the Indian Premier League 2023 has been an exciting event, with all 10 teams putting on a beautiful display of cricket. The defending IPL runner-up, the Rajasthan Royals, are off to a strong start this season. They’ve won five of their first nine games.
Since Rajasthan’s starting lineup was established early in the season, several players have spent most of the current campaign on the bench. Joe Root, the RR camp’s greatest star, has yet to make his debut. The elite batter was acquired in a mini-auction in December 2022 for INR 1 crore but has yet to play in the Indian Premier League.
Joe Root chooses between MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli
Recently, Root and his colleagues Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel played a game of “This or That” in which the Englishman was forced to pick between playing for MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. Root seemed bewildered as he waffled between the two options, ultimately deciding to do nothing.
Root has appeared in 32 T20Is, amassing 893 runs at a 35.72 batting average with five 50+ scores. The mini-auction in 2022 was the first time the great batter had been able to dazzle IPL buyers.
The Sanju Samson-led squad, however, lost three of their past four matches after winning four of their first five games this season. After winning the toss and electing to bat first in their last match against Mumbai Indians, RR scored a magnificent 212/7, thanks in large part to a hundred from Yashasvi Jaiswal (124 off 62).
After a thrilling chase, Mumbai ultimately won the match by six wickets with three balls remaining. Jaiswal, a 21-year-old opener for RR, was named the match’s Player of the Match despite his team’s defeat. On Friday, May 5th, Rajasthan will host the Gujarat Titans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
