Jaipur: In a major blow to Rajasthan Royals before their first match of the IPL 2025 season, skipper Sanju Samson has not fully recovered from injury. His inability to recover completely has forced them to make a leadership change, though, with star all-rounder Riyan Parag appointed as the captain for the first few matches. This period will see Samson captain the side with Parag playing under him.
Samson has been recovering from a finger injury for the last couple of weeks, and while the BCCI cleared him to bat over the weekend, he has not received the clearance from the board to keep wickets. That led to the franchise announcing on March 20 that Parag would captain the team for the first three fixtures and Samson would continue to play as a batsman. Even when Samson recovers, he will be back as captain.
The decision of handing over the captaincy to Parag was announced in front of the whole team by none other than Samson himself. He has since been out of action with the injury which he sustained in the fifth T20 match against England last month. He had rejoined Rajasthan Royals’ training recently after the BCCI medical team issued a clearance for him to bat, although they were still awaiting his clearance to keep wicket.
IPL 2023: Riyan Parag will lead Rajasthan Royals for the 1st time in his IPL career. The side led by him will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 23, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on March 26 and Chennai Super Kings on March 30. Parag’s captaincy is temporary and only for these three games, but he could lead beyond these matches if Samson is not available soon. Parag has led Assam, his home team, in domestic cricket before.