Iconic Australian leg-spinner, Shane Warne, and IPL franchise team, Rajasthan Royals, are almost synonymous. Warne, the player/coach of Rajasthan Royals is indeed the King of wrist spin and Jaipur (the base of the Royals) was a princely state under British rule. The logo of the Royals is a majestic looking emblem with two lions on either side of two Rs. Rajasthan underscored their status by winning the inaugural IPL.
Blue and gold are Rajasthan's basic colours, with blue being the dominant hue. Emerging Media are the majority owners of the Royals, while Shilpa Shetty, of Bollywood and Celebrity Big Brother fame, and her husband are co-owners of the franchise. For the third edition of the IPL, Rajasthan has two home venues-the Sawai Mansingh Stadium (SWS) and Sardar Patel Stadium (SP). SWS is a 30,000-seater venue in Jaipur while SP is a 48,000-seater stadium in Ahmedabad.
== Brief IPL history ==
Rajasthan Royal had a fairytale run in the inaugural IPL. They were rank outsiders for the title, having one of the weakest squads on paper. No one expected them to make it to the semi-finals even. On the back of bamboozling spin and astute captaincy/coaching from Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals squeaked past Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling last-ball victory to cop the first IPL crown and justify their billing as Royals. However, the Royals were ignominiously dethroned in IPL2, failing to reach the semi-finals of that event.
== Star attractions of the Rajasthan Royals for 2010 ==
Shane Warne (AUS), Graeme Smith (SA), Shaun Tait (AUS), Dimitri Mascarenhas (ENG), Morne Morkel (SA), Johan Botha (SA), Damien Martyn (AUS), Yusuf Pathan and Munaf Patel
== Coaching staff==
Head Coach: Shane Warne(AUS)
Performance Coach: Jeremy Snape (ENG)
Physiotherapist: John Gloster (AUS)
== 2010 Kings XI Punjab Squad ==
Batsmen
Graeme Smith, Adam Voges, Damien Martyn, Michael Lumb, Swapnil Asnodkar, Faiz Fazal, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Syed Quadri, Amit Paunikar, Sumit Narwal
All Rounders
Yusuf Pathan, Shrikant Wagh, Shane Watson, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Abhishek Raut
Wicket Keeper
Naman Ojha
Bowlers
Shane Warne (Captain), Shaun Tait, Johan Botha, Morne Morkel, Munaf Patel, Siddharth Trivedi, Kamran Khan, Amit Singh
Just as in their first season, the Rajasthan Royals have an average team on paper. Apart from Munaf Patel and Yusuf Pathan, the Indian players on the team are unknown and untested. Shane Warne bolstered the batting by buying compatriot and former teammate, Damien Martyn, in the IPL 2010 auction. Given that the IPL 2010 is back in India, Rajasthan might be able to use more homegrown talent more effectively in familiar surroundings. At the outset, a semi-final spot seems to be a royal battle for Rajasthan.
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