This team of Rajasthan Royals best ever, says Paddy Upton

RR lost their campaign opener against Kings XI Punjab from a winning position, after Jos Buttler was mankaded by Ravichandran Ashwin. Similarly, they lost two very tight games against Chennai Super Kings.  While pointing out to the close shaves, the RR head coach felt that this season was of missed opportunities for his side.

"There are two aspects to it. In terms of practice, preparation, diets, and the new innovations that we brought into the game, I don’t think I have ever done a more comprehensive job with a team in any of the T20 tournaments. Obviously, it’s the player’s responsibility to perform on the field. The reality is that it was a season of missed opportunities. It was probably the best Rajasthan Royals team in all the IPLs so far, but it was our worst turnout,” Upton said in an interview, reported Express New Service.

“It is debatable. Was it spontaneous in his (Ravichandran Ashwin) bowling action or did he wait for Butler to fall out of the crease and then run him out. That’s one debate. The other debate is about what a team or an individual subscribes to, and that’s a personal preference. But walking off the field, virtually not one of his (Ashwin’s) teammates looked any of our players in the eye. I know some of their (KXIP) coaching staff really well. Even they couldn’t look me in the eye. To me that was a very strong tell-tale that the team didn’t necessarily subscribe to what had happened. All I did was shake his (Ashwin’s) hand… I just held his hand long enough to give him time to look me in the eye. I just waited and then let go,” he shared.