Sanju Samson will reassume his role as Rajasthan Royals’ captain starting from the upcoming match against the Punjab Kings on Saturday after he was cleared for wicketkeeping duties by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) medical team.
The 30-year-old Samson, who led the Rajasthan Royals to the IPL 2022 final and has been the team’s full-time skipper for the past three seasons, was not able to captain the side in the first three matches of the ongoing season on account of not being fully fit.
He had suffered a finger injury after being hit on his hand by a delivery, at nearly 150kmph, from Jofra Archer while playing a T20I against England back in February.
After undergoing surgery, Samson returned to the field before IPL 2025 started but wasn’t cleared to keep wickets or field. The situation saw the young and dynamic Riyan Parag take over the captaincy duties for the opening three matches of the season.
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Despite missing from his usual position behind the wickets as the Royals’ wicketkeeper and skipper, Sanju Samson still contributed to the team’s cause as an Impact Player and batted in all three matches.
He scored a brilliant 66 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first game and returned with scores of 13 and 20 against Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, respectively.
However, with the all clear from the NCA medical team, Sanju Samson is now ready to return to his full leadership role starting from the team’s next match against PBKS at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh on Saturday.
The Royals will go into the weekend fixture high on confidence and the first win of the season under their belt after beating CSK by six runs at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati last Sunday.
