No replacement for Samson because he's such a good player – Riyan Parag

Rajasthan Royals are one of the few Indian Premier League franchises without a player from India's recent T20 World Cup-winning squad. Coach Kumar Sangakkara, however, believes the team has the depth to compensate.

"It is what it is," said Sangakkara. "I am more interested in the players that we have, rather than the players we don't have. For me, looking at my squad, there are certainly enough good Indian players… purely in terms of skill, we have tremendous depth."

The Royals had World Cup standout Sanju Samson, but he moved to Chennai Super Kings in a pre-season trade. The franchise's new captain, Riyan Parag, acknowledged Samson is irreplaceable.

"If you talk about Sanju bhaiya, we never think about replacing the kind of player he is. It's like there is no replacement for Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, and in the same way, there is no replacement for Sanju bhaiya because he is such a good player," Parag said.

The Royals also have a rising star in young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Parag emphasized the need to protect the youngster from external pressure.

"My message to him would be simple – don't get overwhelmed by the attention. Avoid too many media interactions, just enjoy the game. Let him be. He is only 15-16 years old. Let him play his cricket."

Outlining his plans for the season, Parag identified closing out games as a key focus.

"This year, the focus is to plan better and finish games, which we couldn't do in the previous edition. Last year, there were about five-six games that we lost in the last over or even on the last ball. Had we been able to convert those… we would have qualified for the playoffs."

"I think that in every T20 game, there are 3-4 decisions that you have to make which change the course of the game. If we make those small decisions with better strategy and planning, this year will be different."