Rajasthan Royals were dealt with a major blow ahead of IPL 2024 playoffs with the departure of their star batter Jos Buttler. The England T20I skipper has left for the UK to prepare for the upcoming series against Pakistan and the T20 World Cup. A prolific batter, Buttler has delivered on big occasions for the Royals and will surely be missed by the side.
The opening combination of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal has terrorized the opposition on countless occasions before. However, with Buttler gone, RR need to look at some of the other players whom they could consider promoting up the order to the role of an opener. InsideSport takes a look at the alternatives that Sanju Samson and co. could consider as Buttler’s replacement for opener.
Who can replace Jos Buttler as RR’s opener?
1. Sanju Samson
RR skipper Sanju Samson has had his best ever IPL so far in 2024. The Kerala batter has been in red-hot form, batting at number three for the franchise and has amassed 486 runs so far. He is the leading run-scorer for the Royals in IPL 2024.
RR could easily promote Samson to the role of an opener, given his experience of batting up the order. In addition to this, Sanju is no stranger to bat early in the innings, given the failures that Buttler and Jaiswal have had this season.
2. Dhruv Jurel
Another option for RR is wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel. The young batter has played 11 matches so far in IPL 2024 and has scored 131 runs. Jurel is a safe opening option for RR, considering they wouldn’t have to tinker with their playing XI, which also gives them the option to include both power hitters Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell in the side. So far, in this edition of the tournament, DJ has batted down the order, getting only a handful of deliveries to face.
3. Tom Kohler-Cadmore
England keeper-batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore is another option that RR can consider as Jos Buttler’s replacement. Cadmore has 4734 runs to his name from 190 T20s. The Royals are yet to give the star a chance to feature in IPL 2024 and their last league game might be a good time to hand Cadmore his debut.
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