After a narrow loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals pacer Sandeep Sharma on Thursday admitted that the team is feeling the absence of regular skipper Sanju Samson, whose IPL 2025 campaign has been marred by injuries.
“His (Sanju Samson’s) absence is being felt on the ground. He’s a very experienced captain and player, and as a batter, he’s very smart. So yes, his absence has definitely been felt,” Sharma said after RR’s match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
“He (Sanju Samson) didn’t captain the first three matches, and after that, he got a side injury again. Obviously, all this is costing us. All of this has added up and is dragging down the team’s momentum.”
Never miss an update on Rajasthan Royals—get the latest articles, news, and more by clicking here!
Samson, who has scored 224 runs in seven matches so far at an average of 37.33, started the season as an Impact Player in RR’s first three games as he was not fit enough to field. Riyan Parag led the side in his stead.
Shortly after regaining full fitness and returning as a captain, Samson suffered another setback - a side strain during the Super Over loss to Delhi Capitals.
The injury forced him to retire hurt and miss the subsequent fixtures against LSG and RCB.
Despite the injury to Sanju Samson and a five-match losing streak, Sandeep Sharma said that the team remained optimistic about the road ahead.
“As players and as sportspeople, we never lose hope. We’ve got experienced guys in the squad, and our morale needs to stay high. Looking ahead, I believe we should just go out there, express ourselves, take it one game at a time, and focus on winning those matches,” Sandeep said.
The Royals currently sit eighth on the table with just four points from nine matches. They now need to win all of their remaining games to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Their next match will be against the Gujarat Titans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Monday.
