Sanju Samson will not be leading Rajasthan Royals and be playing as a pure batter in their first three matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Champions in 2008, Rajasthan Royals will start their campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad in an away encounter on Sunday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Instead, young Riyan Parag has been handed over the leadership duties for the first three games and use Sanju Samson as an Impact Player. Dhruv Jurel is expected don the big gloves behind the wickets for Rajasthan Royals.
Sanju Samson’s injury occurred during India’s T20I series against England last month at home. He was struck by a bouncer from Jofra Archer in Mumbai during the fifth T20I. Following the injury, Sanju Samson also underwent a surgery to repair the damaged finger.
Post surgery, Sanju Samason rehabilitated at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The right-handed opener joined the Rajasthan Royals camp last week. Interestingly, Jofra Archer is playing for Royals.
“Riyan Parag was named the Royals captain for their first three matches of IPL 2025 as Samson is still recovering from a right index finger injury sustained during the England series,” Rajasthan Royals said.
“Despite being deemed fit enough to contribute as a specialist bowler, Samson is yet to be cleared for his regular wicketkeeping duties,” the franchise added.
Riyag Parag scripts history for RR
At 23, Riyan Parag became the youngest captain to lead Rajasthan Royals in history. The Assamese cricketer also became the fifth-youngest skipper in the history of Indian Premier League.
“I won’t be Rajasthan Royals’ captain forever. There has to be someone groomed for the future. The franchise has developed multiple leaders, and for the next three games, we believe Riyan Parag is ready and capable of leading the side,” Sanju Samson told PTI.
SRH vs RR playing XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(WK), Aniket Verma, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins(C), Simarjeet Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag(C), Dhruv Jurel(Wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Fazalhaq Farooqi
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