Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson will miss the upcoming IPL 2025 match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru due to a side strain suffered during the game against Delhi Capitals.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson is set to be ruled out of the IPL 2025 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, scheduled to take place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday, April 24.
Sanju Samson suffered a side strain during the clash against Delhi Capitals, forcing him to retire out on 31 when Rajasthan Royals were chasing an 189-run target. The match ended in a tie after RR failed to chase down the target and DC won the Super Over by chasing a 12-run target set by the visitors. Samson did not feature in the match against Lucknow Super Giants and 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi came in as his replacement, while Riyan Parag led the Rajasthan Royals.
With Riyan Parag as stand-in skipper, the Rajasthan Royals suffered their fourth successive defeat of the season with a narrow 2-run defeat against Lucknow Super Giants. Sanju Samson’s injury has been a cause of concern for the Rajasthan Royals as the side is striving for the top 4 finish in the league stage and qualify for the playoffs.
Rajasthan Royals are currently at the eight spot with just four points and have a net run rate of NRR of -0.633.
Samson did not travel with RR to Bengaluru
In a statement released by Rajasthan Royals, Sanju Samson did not travel with the squad to Bengaluru for the upcoming clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and rather stayed back in Jaipur for recovery and rehabilitation with the team’s medical staff. However, the franchise did not set a date for Samson’s return to action.
"Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson is currently undergoing recovery and will remain at the team's home base with select RR medical staff. As part of his ongoing rehab process, he will not be travelling to Bangalore for the upcoming match against RCB," the statement read.
"The team management is monitoring his progress closely and will take a game-by-game approach regarding his return to action," it further added.
Earlier this season, Sanju Samson played first three matches solely as a batter as he did not get the clearance from the NCA to keep wickets due to finger injury. In his absence, Riyan Parag led the side, while Dhruv Jurel took up wicketkeeping duties. After getting clearance from the Centre of Excellence, Samson returned to captaincy and wicketkeeping duties for the clash against Punjab Kings.
Since Sanju Samson is ruled out of the RCB clash, Riyan Parag will continue to lead RR and Dhruv Jurel to wear the gloves. It remains to be seen whether Sanju Samson will be fit to play the remaining match of the IPL 2025.
How did Sanju Samson perform in IPL 2025?
Sanju Samson has been in a good form in the ongoing IPL season, amassing 224 , including a fifty, at an average of 37.33 in 8 matches. His best performance came against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Uppal Stadium, where he scored a brilliant 66 off 37 balls. However, his effort went in vain as RR failed to chase down the 287-run target set by SRH after being restricted to 242/6.
However, Sanju Samson’s captaincy came under scrutiny as Rajasthan Royals are currently looking for a spot in the playoffs. Despite his return as a captain, RR’s fortunes did not change as they lost three matches in 5 outings. In the last IPL season, Samson-led side qualified for the playoffs, defeating Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Eliminator before losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2.
Rajasthan Royals have not yet got their hands on the coveted IPL trophy since winning the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008, under Shane Warne’s leadership. It remains to be seen whether Royals can pull off their miracle in order to finish in top 4, with Rahul Dravid at the helm as the head coach.