RR schedule: Rajasthan Royals to take on CSK in first IPL 2020 match on September 22

The Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season is all set to commence on Saturday, September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Rajasthan Royals (RR) were among the first batch of teams to touch down in the Gulf country, as they landed in Dubai on August 20, a month before the start of the IPL. After undergoing the quarantine norms as imposed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the RR squad began their training camps for the imminent T20 spectacle. While the RR team won the inaugural edition of the tournament back in 2008, they are yet to further polish their trophy cabinet and will be looking to add their second title in the upcoming Dream11 IPL 2020 season.

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RR schedule: RR time table for IPL 2020 season released, opener against  X

With the Dream11 IPL 2020 just a fortnight away, the BCCI and the IPL governing council announced the RR IPL schedule for the upcoming season. The RR time table will see the 2008 champions face off against last year's beaten finalists Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Tuesday, September 22, 2020. The RR time table will see them face off against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) next, before squaring off against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in their first five IPL fixtures. According to IPL's RR schedule, the Royals will face off against MI, KKR and KXIP in their final three league phase fixtures. 

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RR Schedule: Steve Smith, Ben Stokes to miss first few games of the RR time table 

The RR schedule meant that the Royals will be without key players for the initial players. The RR team is built around the English trio of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer, with former Australian captain Steve Smith set to lead them this season. However, the RR team will miss the services of the aforementioned quartet, due to their national commitments. Smith, Archer and Buttler are expected to join the rest of the RR players on September 17, after the end of the England vs Australia ODI series. While the date is before the beginning of the RR schedule, mandatory quarantine regulations mean that they are likely to miss the initial matches. 

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According to media reports, Jaydev Unadkat could be in line to lead the RR team when they begin their campaign against XXX. The left-arm pacer was in fine form during the 2019/20 Ranji Trophy season, finishing as the leading wicket-taker with 67 wickets, while captaining Saurashtra to their maiden Ranji Trophy triumph. Among other overseas picks in the RR team, the 2008 IPL champions could opt for South Africa's David Miller, West Indian pacer Oshane Thomas and Australian pacer Andrew Tye. England pacer Tom Curran is also part of the RR squad but will join the team with Jos Buttler and co. 

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RR time table: Entire IPL 2020 schedule for Rajasthan Royals 

RR schedule: RR squad for IPL 2020

• Steve Smith (captain), Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Yashasvi Jaiswal, David Miller, Aniruddha Joshi, Ben Stokes, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Robin Uthappa, Anuj Rawat, Shreyas Gopal, Shashank Singh, Rahul Tewatia, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Varun Aaron, Ankit Rajpoot, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Tom Curran, Oshane Thomas and Akash Singh.

(Image Courtesy: Rajasthan Royals Instagram)