 "Rajasthan Royals currently find themselves at the eighth spot on the IPL 2025 points table with six defeats in eight games. PTI")
It’s been far from ideal a season for the Rajasthan Royals in the 2025 Indian Premier League , in which they find themselves on the verge of bowing out of the playoffs race with six games still to go in the league stage. RR haven’t had much stability on the leadership front either, with Sanju Samson unable to lead the side for half of the season due to fitness issues , forcing Riyan Parag to fill in for him.
What has made the situation worse for the Royals is the fact that they fell marginally short in a run chase in each of their last two outings despite being well on top for the better part. RR were well on their way to chasing down the 181-run target set by Lucknow Super Giants in their previous outing on Saturday, only to fall marginally short and suffer a two-run loss in the end . The Royals needed 25 to win from 18 balls with eight wickets in hand and two well-set batters at the crease, only to be thwarted by some brilliant death bowling by Avesh Khan.
While the result was heartbreaking for the Royals, they find themselves accused of match-fixing for the manner in which they lost to the Rishabh Pant’s side. What makes the issue a lot more serious is the fact that the fixing accusation has come from Jaideep Bihani, the ad-hoc committee convenor of the Rajasthan Cricket Association.
Royals write strongly-worded letter to Rajasthan government against match-fixing accusations
The franchise has since written to Rajasthan Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and the Sports Council, refuting the allegations made by the BJP MLA from Sriganganagar.
“Jaideep Bihani, convener of the ad-hoc committee of Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), has issued a statement regarding Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) performance in recent matches, Rajasthan Sports Council and BCCI. In which he has made comments raising doubts on the performance of Rajasthan Royals and hinting at manipulation in IPL matches," the Royals wrote in a letter to the state government.
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More Shorts“Jaideep Bihani has also accused Rajasthan Royals management, Rajasthan Sports Council and BCCI of colluding with each other to exclude RCA ad hoc from participating in IPL. Whereas in reality, all the allegations made by ad hoc committee convener Jaideep Bihani are completely false and baseless. There is no evidence for them…”
“These public allegations cause great damage to the reputation and image of Rajasthan Royals. Such statements have unnecessarily escalated the controversy and also attempted to mislead the public. Along with this, Bihani has also worked to reduce the credibility of Royal Multi Sport Private Limited (RMPL), Rajasthan Royals franchise, Rajasthan Sports Council and the BCCI, as well as cricket. Whereas we have been working successfully with the state association and state government as per the instructions of the BCCI for the last 18 years,” it added.
RR also refute allegations over not keeping RCA in loop over IPL games in Jaipur
The Rahul Dravid-coached side have also refuted the allegation that they have not kept the RCA ad-hoc committee in the loop while organising IPL matches at Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Stadium, which has been their home ground since the inaugural season in 2008.
“This year, according to the BCCI, Rajasthan Sports Council has the rights to host IPL matches in Jaipur. Therefore, Rajasthan Royals is working closely with the BCCI and the Council under the guidance and support of the state government to organise the IPL smoothly.
“We request the Sports Council and the State Government to take all necessary steps and actions to prevent and control such conduct. We are writing to you with full faith in your leadership. We hope that you will intervene appropriately in this matter…” the Royals further wrote.
The Royals travel to Bengaluru, where they face an upbeat Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their next game on Thursday. Given they’ve already lost six out of eight games this season, they find themselves needing to win each of their remaining matches to keep their playoff hopes alive.