Sanju Samson is back in action as the captain of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) after getting the green light from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to resume his wicketkeeping duties for the IPL 2025 season. He’s gearing up to lead the team in their upcoming game against the Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on April 5.
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There was a scare earlier this year when Samson hurt his right index finger during a T20I series against England. The injury happened when he was struck by a bouncer from his teammate, England’s Jofra Archer. After that, he spent a substantial amount of time at the NCA in Bengaluru to recover. Initially, he was allowed to play only as a specialist batsman, meaning he couldn’t keep wickets right at the start of the IPL season. To keep the rules in check, RR made the necessary adjustments and followed the Impact Player rule, which limited Samson’s duties behind the stumps. During this phase, Riyan Parag stepped up to captain the team for the first three matches.
In a statement, the Rajasthan Royals announced, “Sanju Samson has received the go-ahead from the NCA to start keeping wickets again after a full recovery process. They went on to mention that this approval followed a complete evaluation of his fitness by the NCA medical team. With this great news, Samson is back in full swing with his captaincy, ready to take charge in the match against the Punjab Kings.
Sanju Samson (C) & (WK) ✅💗 pic.twitter.com/LNPQb1X0uC
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 2, 2025
When the season kicked off against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Samson only made it onto the field for the second innings, and in the matches against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders, he had to sit out before the end. His batting scores in those games were a bit of a mixed bag, not quite what everyone was hoping to see, with scores of 66, 13, and 20.
RR had a rocky start, losing the first two matches. But they bounced back with a solid victory over CSK at their alternate home ground, the Baraspara Stadium in Guwahati. As of now, they find themselves sitting near the bottom of the points table, and there’s a critical need for them to turn things around quickly.
Riyan Parag was leading the team for the first time in the IPL, but it seems he struggled to get the best performances out of his teammates. On top of that, he found himself involved in some off-field controversies that didn’t help his situation.
Sanju Samson is RR’s longest-serving captain, having taken the reins in 61 matches since 2021. Under his leadership, the team has secured 31 victories but faced 29 losses. They’ve also made it to the playoffs a couple of times, even finishing as runners-up during his very first season in charge. Fans are eager to see how he can steer the team moving forward now that he’s back to full match fitness.
