Rajasthan Royals had a poor season in the IPL 2025 despite having a lot of talented players. Their bowling did not come good, while the batting revolved around the top three. While there were many talented players lower down the order, they could not get the job done. A lot of questionable decision-making and tactics cost RR in the 18th edition of the league.
There was also a case for RR not utilizing the full potential of some of their players in the squad. In fact, some of the players were not used at all, while players who did not perform well were given a longer rope, although it was a good thought process to back players. However, some players deserved to start in the XI but did not get a lot of chances, which could have hampered RR’s cause.
3 Players who RR underutilized in the IPL 2025 –
1. Tushar Deshpande
One might think Tushar Deshpande got enough chances to be in the XI, but did not prove himself. However, that’s not the case. In CSK, Deshpande was a key bowler along with Matheesha Pathirana and other spinners for two consecutive seasons. In RR, his role was not defined like it was when he played for CSK.
Deshpande took the new ball at times and was asked to be the first change in other instances. More often than not, he did not complete his quota of four overs. In fact, in 10 innings, he bowled 32 overs, with an average of 20 deliveries per match. Deshpande was not trusted highly before the temporary halt of the IPL 2025.
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2. Shubham Dubey
Shubham Dubey was used by the Royals as one of their designated finishers. However, he did not get to face a lot of deliveries in the back end of the innings, which led to one thinking if he needed a bit of more time to get set in the middle. On the other hand, Dhruv Jurel was capable enough to strike the ball from the word ‘go’.
It would have made sense for the inaugural champions to bat Dubey in the middle order so that he could strike against the spinners, which could have boosted his confidence. Jurel would have batted better as a designated finisher, given his numbers at the death. Dubey ended up facing just 66 deliveries, just 16 more than Jofra Archer, in the IPL 2025.
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3. Akash Madhwal
Akash Madhwal has to be the most underutilized player of RR in the IPL 2025. Coming into the tournament, he was one of the best death bowlers and was expected to form a yorker duo along with Sandeep Sharma. However, the former MI pacer got a chance to bowl in just four matches, most of which came as Sandeep’s replacement.
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Madhwal should have been in the starting XI, given his caliber to control the flow of runs in the last few overs of the match. He could also take wickets as a first change and could have made a lot of difference for the RR lineup. Akash not getting a chance to play the entire season was one of the reasons behind the failure of RR in the IPL 2025.
