RR were long out of IPL 2025. Throughout the season, the Sanju Samson/Riyan Parag led team failed to chase down scores, while batting second, and the bowlers were too expensive on most occasions. That was dearth of spinners and all-rounders in the team, and just about nothing clicked for them. Eventually, the campaign for RR ended with a consolation win over CSK on Tuesday.
Once again, the 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi came to the team’s rescue as they managed to end with four wins in 14 matches, chasing down 188. Truth be told, if one has to rate the team’s performance in the tournament — it should not be more than 3.5/10, for the kind of squad they had. All this, under the supervision of T20 World Cup winning coach Rahul Dravid. InsideSport comes up with the review for Rajasthan Royals.
Have a look at the updated points table of IPL 2⃣0⃣2⃣5⃣ after Rajasthan Royals finished its season with a six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings to finish with eight points
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— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) May 20, 2025
IPL 2025 RR Retained & Released Players
Retained: Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer and Sandeep Sharma.
Released: Jos Buttler, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler Cadmore, Nandre Burger, Abid Mushtaq.
Now what was the RR management thinking when they let go, the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Jos Buttler. The duo were brilliant for this franchise, and have been brilliant in their new homes too.. And RR has suffered. Not only they suffered on account of not having a brilliant spinner in their ranks, but also due to the mistake of retaining Hetmyer over Buttler.
IPL 2025 Squad
Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Charak, Fazal Farooqi, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Kwena Maphaka, Kunal Rathore, Ashok Sharma, Lhuan-dre Pretorius.
Despite the shortcomings, the team compiled a decent squad at the auction and before the start of the tournament, many experts had predicted a top 4 finish for the team. After all, they had managed to bag Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana in the squad, who are all good finds.
Rajasthan Royals Review (3.5/10)
Would it be fair to call the IPL 2025, as RR’s worst season of all times? Perhaps, yes. The team ended with four wins, the least in a season ever. Yet, they have to look at the positives from here on, to build the team for the next season, in a year, which was riddled with unprecedented lows. There were injury concerns, leadership issues, and the players overall, failed to live up to the expectations.
Highs:
- RR unearthed a rare gem in Vaibhav Suryavanshi (252 runs in 7 matches)
- Yashavi Jaiswal solid at top (559 runs in 14 matches)
Lows:
- Sanju Samson’s unavailability due to multiple injuries
- Riyan Parag’s mediocre captaincy
- Lack of decent all-rounders
- Lack of wicket-taking ability displayed by bowlers
- Hasaranga best bowler for RR with 11 wickets in 11 matches
- Failure of Shimron Hetmyer as finisher
- Bad season with bat for Sanju
Your Men in Pink will return in 2026.
pic.twitter.com/dhr1uEr2jo
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 21, 2025
Looking Ahead at IPL 2026
One thing is clear. Rajasthan need to get rid of the non-performers asap. The list includes Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande, Yudhvir and Akash Madhwal. While all might not be removed after all, but some big spinners and all-rounders should be considered for IPL 2026, or the team could see new lows next year.
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