Symbol of RR

Rajasthan Royals (RR)

• The Rajasthan Royals abbreviated as RR are a franchise cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight IPL franchises, the team is based at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The Royals are known to unearth obscure, high potential talent, as well as for their involvement in a number of controversies and scandals.
• The home venue of the Royals is the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The stadium was built during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. It is situated at one corner of the Rambagh Circle. The stadium seats 30,000 and is one of the best in India, after the 2006 renovation.

• The Sawai Mansingh Stadium is a cricket stadium in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It was named after Sawai Man Singh II, the erstwhile ruler of the princely state of Jaipur. It is situated at one corner of the PKMB. Due to 4 years ban on Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad hosted the Rajasthan Royals home matches.
• The team won the inaugural edition of the IPL under the captaincy of Shane Warne, despite being written off as a title contender by the media and fans. The Royals were also the runners-up of the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy. The team’s record run-scorer is Ajinkya Rahane with 3098 runs, while the leading wicket-taker is Shane Watson, with 67.
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the establishment of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in September 2007, a Twenty20 competition to be started in 2008. The Rajasthan Royals were one of the original eight teams in the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008. The team was sold to the Emerging Media for $67 million, making it the least expensive team in the league. Even though least expensive team, they became champions in inaugural season of IPL.

• The franchise is currently owned and chaired by Manoj Badale. Other investors include Lachlan Murdoch, Aditya S Chellaram, and Suresh Chellaram. The Group acquired the franchise for $67 million. There have been past controversies regarding the ownership of the franchise, leading to their expulsion from the league in 2010. Incidentally, this was the least expensive franchise in the Indian Premier League and probably the least fancied team in the league at the beginning of the tournament. It made a pre-tax profit of $7.5 million in 2009.

Expulsion from the IPL and return: In 2010, the BCCI decided to expel Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals from the IPL. The expulsion baffled captain Shane Warne who stated that he suspected that there might be some foul play and that the BCCI might possess some ulterior motives.

• The Rajasthan Royals filed an appeal against the decision and the two parties went to the Mumbai High Court to decide. The Mumbai High Court adjourned that case until 29 October 2010, but it was revised to 15 November because they didn’t want it to coincide with Diwali celebrations from 1 to 14 November.
• Later, it was announced by the Royals that they told the Bombay High Court that they would be negotiating with an arbitrator to see if they could reconcile with the IPL. The arbitrator announced that while the investigation was ongoing, the Royals would remain a part of the IPL for six weeks and the BCCI would not be allowed to change rules which might go against the Royals. The six-week period included the player auction in which Rajasthan Royals participated.
• After this, the Bombay High Court rejected the appeals of the BCCI against keeping the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL for six weeks while the case was sorted out. It was estimated that because of the losses in court cases and damage in reputation, the BCCI decided not to pursue further legal action against the Rajasthan Royals or Kings XI Punjab the teams were allowed to remain in the IPL.

Ban in 2015: In 2015, the team was banned for two years following the Lodha Committee inquiry. On 14 July 2015, the verdict reached by a panel appointed by the Supreme Court of India suspended Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings for two years over a 2013 betting scandal, meaning they could not participate in both the 2016 and 2017 IPL tournaments. They returned to the competition for the 2018 season.

• Rajasthan Royals became the source of controversy when inappropriate and fictitious bids were made, violating BCCI norms. Ranjit Barthakur and Fraser Castellino were the only two shareholders of the team, which was completely unknown to the BCCI at the time. An out-of-court settlement between the two ensued. In 2015, Rajasthan Royals were banned for two years by the BCCI, with its owner Raj Kundra banned for life.

Jersey of RR for 2021 season:

• The team anthem used to be ‘Halla Bol’. In the first IPL season, the song was sung by Ila Arun. In the second season, it was sung by Sunidhi Chauhan. Their current anthem, released in 2018, is ‘Phir Halla Bol’.

Year wise standings of RR:

• In 2021 season, they are eagerly looking to win the title for the second time they changed the management and named Sri-Lankan former skipper Kumar Sangakara as Director and named Kerala cricketer Sanju Samson as their captain and hoping for better results. Let’s see what happens in 2021 season.