Rajasthan Royals
The inaugural champions who rose from underdogs to legends.
The Rajasthan Royals, also known as RR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight franchises, the Royals are owned by Manoj Badale and the Emerging Media group. The team plays its home matches primarily at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, and has occasionally used the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati as a secondary venue in certain seasons.
- Home Ground
- Sawai Mansingh Stadium (primary); Assam Cricket Association Stadium, Guwahati (secondary venue in certain seasons)
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
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, and the runners-up of the 2022 Indian Premier League under the captaincy of Sanju Samson and leadership of Kumar Sangakkara. The team qualified for playoffs in 2024 Indian Premier League but lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in qualifier 2 by 36 runs under the captaincy of Sanju Samson and leadership of Sangakkara. The team had announced former team India coach and ex-Rajasthan Royals player and mentor Rahul Dravid as Head Coach for IPL 2025. 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. The team returned to the competition with the 2018 season.
In Their Own Story
In 2024, the Royals qualified for the playoffs but fell to Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 by 36 runs. The team has seen leadership evolve from Shane Warne's historic captaincy to Rahul Dravid's tenure as captain during their 2013 Champions League Twenty20 runner-up finish. Under Sanju Samson, who holds the record with 4,219 runs, and leadership from Kumar Sangakkara, they reached the 2022 IPL finals as runners-up. The team also announced Dravid as Head Coach for IPL 2025. While their home base is Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, they have also played home matches at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati.
Reader's Guide
The team's record run-scorer is Sanju Samson with 4219 runs, while the leading wicket-taker is Jofra Archer, with 70 wickets. Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Jos Buttler, James Faulkner, Steve Smith, Jofra Archer, Ajinkya Rahane, and Yusuf Pathan are widely regarded as some of the most notable players in the history of the Rajasthan Royals.
Did You Know?
- The Rajasthan Royals were the least expensive franchise in the inaugural IPL, purchased for $67 million.
- The team was expelled from the IPL for two seasons (2016 and 2017) due to a betting scandal.
- Shane Warne captained the Royals to victory in the first IPL season in 2008.
More in Stadium & Fan Culture
Related in Mumbai Indians
Links follow this subject's own source article.
Elsewhere in the Mumbai Indians universe
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record