From contenders to collapse: Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2025 campaign ends in disappointment

Last year, Rajasthan Royals fell 36 runs short against Sunrisers Hyderabad to secure a place in the IPL 2024 final. They finished third at the end of the league stage with 17 points and also beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator clash. Things have been quite different in the ongoing IPL 2025, however. With their eighth loss in eleven games against Mumbai Indians on Thursday, they became the second team after CSK to be knocked out of the race for playoff qualification.

How has Rajasthan Royals performed in IPL 2025?

Heading into the start of the IPL 2025 season, Rajasthan Royals dealt with a big blow as Sanju Samson couldn’t recover fully from a finger injury and played as an Impact Player in the first three games. Riyan Parag took on the leadership duties and Rajasthan lost two out of their first three games. 

Their first win came against Chennai Super Kings, courtesy of a brilliant knock from Nitish Rana (81 off 36). Yashasvi Jaiswal couldn’t provide a great start in all three games but came to his own in the fourth game where he hammered 67 off 45, helping Rajasthan win their second game of IPL 2025 against Punjab Kings. 

With two wins in their first four games, there was no sense of panic in the Rajasthan Royals dugout. But what followed thereafter, was a string of losses. In their fifth game, the Gujarat Titans took RR’s bowlers to the cleaners, posting a massive 217 total. RR bowlers had a similar fate in the next game when RCB chased down a 174-run target in just 17.3 overs with nine wickets in hand. 

Even as their bowlers looked out of sorts, RR’s finishing skills were exposed in their next three games, thereafter. Rajasthan Royals looked on course for a win but failed to close down the chase in all three games. Against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), RR couldn't score 9 runs off the final over. Then, against RCB, they again failed to finish despite needing only 18 off the final 12 balls.

Five losses in a row meant Rajasthan Royals were going further close to the exit doors. They registered a win over Gujarat, headlined by 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi's maiden IPL ton but it was followed by a hammering from Mumbai Indians. 

What has led to Rajasthan Royals’ early exit? 

In the absence of an experienced campaigner like Jos Buttler, Rajasthan Royals needed Sanju Samson’s leadership on the field in all the games. However, his injury hasn't served them well as Parag still has a long way to go as far as his captaincy is concerned. 

Riyan Parag hasn’t been able to deliver with the bat, either, amassing 282 runs in 11 games with his highest score being 43. Nitish Rana’s acquisition hasn’t given them rich dividends, while Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer let down the team by not taking responsibility in the crucial stages of the game. 

Rajasthan Royals’ bowling attack failed to live up to the standards set in the IPL. There has been a stark difference between the Tushar Deshpande who played for CSK and the one representing Rajasthan Royals. With just 6 wickets in eight games at an economy of close to 11.25, he has proved to be one of the biggest flops for the franchise. 

RR trusted Sandeep Sharma’s ability to bowl in all phases of the games. He has picked just nine wickets in 10 games. Jofra Archer needed support from the other bowlers but to no avail.  

There were many individual reasons behind the losses, but ultimately, it was the team that didn’t perform well. And this time, the team was different. Rajasthan Royals would have been disappointed to let go of a batsman like Jos Buttler, especially after watching how well he has been performing for Gujarat Titans this season. 

Yuzvendra Chahal and Trent Boult are some other names that are missing from the previous squad. The New Zealand pacer is currently the third-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2025 with 16 wickets, while Chahal is at 12th spot with 13 wickets to his name.