A comprehensive look at every captain of Rajasthan Royals from Shane Warne to Sanju Samson.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) pulled off a massive surprise after they won the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) way back in 2008. Despite not having big names in their ranks, they managed to get their hands on the trophy after beating the mighty Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final. But since then, RR have not been able to perform to the best of their abilities.
Back in 2022, the Royals played in the final of the event, but lost to Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Over the years, they have had several big names, including the likes of Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, Shane Warne, and others, but despite that, they have had to wait for their second IPL title.
Players with the highest strike rate in IPL history
Contents
Every captain of Rajasthan Royals: RR skippers from Shane Warne to Sanju Samson
| Player | Span |
| Shane Warne | 2008-2011 |
| Shane Watson | 2008-2015 |
| Rahul Dravid | 2012-2013 |
| Steve Smith | 2014-2020 |
| Ajinkya Rahane | 2018-2019 |
| Sanju Samson | 2021-2024 |
Shane Warne
Shane Warne remains arguably the best captain RR have ever had. He took charge of the team in 2008 and captained them for 4 seasons until 2011. Under him, the Royals flourished and gave star-studded teams a run for their money. In 2008, RR were not expected among the favourites to get their hands on the coveted trophy, but Warne refused to throw in the towel by any means.
Warne was stupendous with the ball that season after he picked up 19 wickets from 15 games at an economy rate of 7.76. He also scored 70 runs in 7 innings at an average of 14 and a strike-rate of 118.64. Warne is currently fourth in the list of leading wicket-taker for RR in the tournament with 58 scalps to his name from 56 matches. He was recently toppled by Yuzvendra Chahal, who is with the Royals since 2022.
Warne captained the Royals 56 times from 2008 to 2011. RR have won 31 matches while he lost 24 games. Statistically, he remains the most successful skipper for the Royals in the history of the IPL.
MORE THAN JUST A TEAM. pic.twitter.com/W34lxhHvIT
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 17, 2024
Shane Watson
Shane Watson flourished while playing for the Royals in the tournament. In the inaugural edition of the T20 league, he became the Player of the Series and played a key role in RR winning the title for the first time. In 15 matches, Watson scored 472 runs at an average of 47.20 and a strike-rate of 151.76 with 4 half-centuries. He also picked up 17 wickets at an economy rate of 7.76.
In 84 matches for the Royals, Watson scored 2474 runs at an average of 35.85 with 2 centuries and a top score of 104 not out to his name. He is currently fourth in the list of leading run-scorers for RR. Watson, however, remains the top run-getter for the Royals in T20 matches, having taken 67 wickets at an economy rate of 7.55.
Watson captained the Royals in 21 matches, but did not taste a lot of success. RR won only 7 out of 21 matches under his leadership while losing only 11. 2 matches ended in ties while 1 game did not produce a result.
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid started playing for RCB in the IPL, but later played 2 seasons for the Royals. Under his leadership, RR won 23 out of 40 matches and lost 17. Overall, Dravid played 52 matches for the Royals in which he racked up 1324 runs at an average of 27.02 and a strike-rate of 108.88 with 7 fifties and a top score of 66 to show for his efforts.
In 89 matches in his IPL career, Dravid scored 2174 runs at an average of 28.23 with 11 half-centuries. After hanging his boots from cricket, he took up roles of coaching and is currently the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team. Back in 2018, he also won the U19 World Cup as a coach with Prithvi Shaw as their captain.
Steve Smith
Steve Smith captained the Royals in 27 matches from 2014 to 2020. Under his captaincy, RR won 15 out of 27 matches while losing 11. 1 match ended in no result. In 50 matches for the Royals, Smith scored 1070 runs at an average of 30.57 and a strike-rate of 126.92 with 8 fifties and a top score of 79 not out.
Apart from the Royals, Smith also played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Delhi Capitals (DC) and the now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant. In 103 matches in the IPL, Smith scored 2485 runs at an average of 34.51 and a strike-rate of 128.09 with a hundred and 11 fifties to his name.
Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane tasted most of his success in the IPL while playing for the Royals. Although he was a part of the Mumbai Indians in the initial stage of his career, it was only after he started representing RR that he made an impact. In 137 matches for the Royals, Rahane scored 3679 runs at an average of 31.17 and a strike-rate of 139.83 with 23 half-centuries and a top score of 119 to show for his efforts.
In 24 matches for the Royals that he had led in, he won only 9 games and lost 15. It goes without saying that Rahane did not have the most pleasant times while leading RR. Currently with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Rahane has done decently as well.
Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson replaced Steve Smith as the RR skipper in the 2021 edition of the T20 league. Having captained the Royals in over 50 games, he has garnered a fair amount of experience of captaining a big T20 team. Under his captaincy, RR made their way through to the final of IPL 2022, although his team lost to the Titans.
Samson is currently the leading run-scorer for the Royals in the history of the IPL and is also nearing the 4000-run mark for them. Having also scored 2 centuries, he has been an asset for the RR team.
