Former India player Aakash Chopra said that the Rajasthan Royals should at least qualify for the playoffs of IPL 2024 if they play to their potential as well. The Royals, who were the runners-up in IPL 2022, finished fifth in IPL 2023 as well. They have strengthened their squad by trading in Avesh Khan from the Lucknow Super Giants and buying five other players, including Rovman Powell (₹7.40 crore) and Shubham Dubey (₹5.80 crore), at the auction.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “It is a good team, there is no doubt about that. That’s why I feel it will be a highly competitive IPL. It’s a shame if this team doesn’t qualify for the playoffs this time as well. If you have Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal, and then if you have Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag is batting alright, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Trent Boult – of course all overseas won’t be able to play – but they are a good team.”

However, the Royals were the inaugural IPL champions and they have qualified for the playoffs only four times since then with the 2022 edition seeing their only other entry into the final as well. And, Aakash Chopra also added that how effectively Rajasthan Royals use the Impact Player rule would define how well they play in IPL 2024.

“They have Avesh Khan as well. Is it a side that can lift the trophy? They can do that, it’s a good team, but whether they would lift the trophy or not will depend on whether they will use the Impact Player or not. The last time they said they wouldn’t use the Impact Player, that cricket used to be an 11-player game and they would play with 11 only, that they would play with six batters and five bowlers, neither would they have a sixth bowler nor a seventh batter,” Aakash Chopra concluded.