Sanju Samson has been fined ₹24 lakh for breaching the IPL’s Code of Conduct during Rajasthan Royals’ match against Gujarat Titans on April 9, Wednesday. The penalty was imposed for violating the league’s over-rate rules for the second time. According to the fine, the rest of the players from the playing XI also have been penalized.
“Rajasthan Royals Captain Sanju Samson has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during Match No. 23 of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad,” IPL released a statement.
“As this was his team’s second offence of the season under Article 2.22 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct, which pertains to minimum over-rate offences, Samson was fined INR 24 lakhs. The rest of the members of the Playing XI, including the Impact Player, will be fined either INR 6 lakhs or 25 per cent of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser,” it further mentioned.
Hardik Pandya missed Mumbai Indian’s opening game against Chennai Super Kings due to a pending penalty from the previous year. The recent penalty on Sanju Samson, has raised concerns about his suspension from RR’s match if he violates the over-rate rule one more time. Will he be suspended from a match like Pandya? Let’s find out.
Why did Hardik Pandya miss the IPL 2025 opener?
Hardik Pandya was forced to miss Mumbai Indians’ opening game against Chennai Super Kings due to a carryover penalty from the previous season. As per the 2024 IPL regulations, a third violation of the over-rate resulted in a one-match suspension for Pandya at the start of the 2025 campaign. Suryakumar Yadav stepped in as captain for the opening match, where MI lost to CSK.
IPL’s revised penal code for over-rate violations
In the 2025 IPL season, the regulations governing slow over-rates have been significantly revised from the previous year. A key change is the elimination of automatic captain suspensions.
“Effective this season, a new Code of Conduct will be implemented from the TATA IPL 2025 season, introducing a demerit points system and suspension points that will remain valid for 36 months,” the BCCI said in an official release.
In the 2024 season, a captain faced a mandatory one-match ban if his team commited slow over-rate offenses in three straight games. However, this has now been replaced with a demerit points framework in the ongoing IPL 2025.
According to the updated rules, skippers will face monetary penalties and accumulate demerit points for slow over-rates, with a typical fine of 25% of their match fee. These points remain active for 36 months, and repeated violations could trigger steeper punishments. For instance, if a team reaches four demerit points, a 100% fine might be incurred, potentially leading to even tougher sanctions.
Will Sanju Samson miss a game he he violates the rule for the third time?
According to the IPL 2025 rules, the automatic captain suspension from the match has been removed. So, if Sanju Samson commits the same offence for the third time, he will face monetary penalty and get demerit points.
