“They don’t have a replacement for him” - Robin Uthappa slams Rajasthan Royals for poor retention strategy

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter and commentator Robin Uthappa has slammed the Rajasthan Royals for releasing their star players Jos Buttler, Ravi Ashwin, and Yuzvendra Chahal in the IPL 2025 retentions.

Uthappa stated that if Shimron Hetmyer gets injured, there is no proper replacement to take his spot in the XI. Notably, RR suffered a 58-run defeat to the Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, April 9.

Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Rajasthan Royals retained Sanju Samson (18 crore), Yashasvi Jaiswal (18 crore), Riyan Parag (14 crore), Dhruv Jurel (14 crore), Shimron Hetmyer (11 crore), and Sandeep Sharma (4 crore).

“And I think that's where RR got it wrong in the auctions didn't they. I think the fact that they let the likes of Jos Butler go, Ashwin go, Yuzi Chahal go, they just left too many holes. Like today, if Shimron Hetmyer gets injured, they don't have a replacement for him, which makes us ask that question, how does that actually work for them,” said Uthappa on Star Sports.

Moreover, former Indian all-rounder Shane Watson also stated that there was huge influence on Sanju Samson from Jos Buttler. He expressed his disbelief in releasing the star batter Buttler from their side.

“The connection that Sanju has as a leader with Jos Butler really does have a huge influence in and around the group as well. So there are other factors around not just your cricket performance on the field that add so much value, which is why it just continues to blow me away that the Rajasthan Royals didn't retain him,” Watson stated.

It’s important to note that Buttler was part of the RR set-up since IPL 2018, playing an important role in the IPL 2022 season, propelling the side to the final with 863 runs from 17 games.

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