Zee Media Bureau/Jayanta Oinam
New Delhi: One of the stars of the recently concluded U-19 Asia Cup - Sanju Samson, has been retained along with Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, James Faulkner and Stuart Binny by Rajasthan Royals for the seventh edition of super-rich Indian Premier League.
However, the champions of the first edition of IPL will still have the services of now retired Rahul Dravid as their mentor. Any of these five retained players can emulate the role played by Dravid this season. For that matter of fact, the retention of in-form players in Samson, Rahane and Watson augurs well for the Jaipur based team.
In the just concluded Ashes down-under, team`s premier all-rounder Watson contributed heavily, with both bat and ball in Australia`s winning cause. India`s young star Sanju Samson made a 87-ball century in the U-19 Asia Cup final against Pakistan. In the trusted bat of Rahane, Royals will surely look to have a steady opening batsman to complement Watson`s all-round ability.
With the introduction of right-to-match cards, which allows a franchise to buy back one of their own players who has been put on the auction, the team management under coach Paddy Upton, can later capture Brad Hodge, Fidel Edwards and Owais Shah. With the five retained players, these overseas players formed the core the team when they reach the final of the league, for the second time in the 2013 edition.
