Rajasthan Royals are set to trade their captain, Sanju Samson, to five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) retention announcement on Saturday (November 15). The official announcement regarding the same is expected in the coming days, even as the Royals are securing Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran's services reportedly for Samson. Meanwhile, the Royals will also have to look for a new captain with Samson leaving the franchise. Here are three captaincy options for them:
1. Yashasvi Jaiswal
It was startling to see Parag leading the Royals in IPL 2025 ahead of Yashasvi Jaiswal when Samson got injured. Jaiswal is fast emerging as the star player for India and would've naturally expected to take over the reins from Samson, albeit for a few matches. Nevertheless, the southpaw has the chance of being appointed as the captain for the entire season officially now, and this could be the start of a new era for Rajasthan in IPL.
2. Riyan Parag
Riyan Parag was a surprise choice to lead Rajasthan Royals in the previous season in Samson's absence. He led the franchise in eight matches and ended up losing six of them while winning only two. Parag's captaincy career didn't start on a great note, but the Royals have been backing him to the hilt since the start of his career. Hence, it should be no surprise if Parag ends up getting the captaincy permanently.
3 Nitish Rana
Nitish Rana has an outside chance to lead Rajasthan Royals as well if the franchise doesn't release him. Rana has experience in leading an IPL team, having done so for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2023. He was the KKR captain for 14 matches, winning six and losing eight of them. Rana is certainly not a straightforward choice for captaincy but could be a stop gap kind of option if things don't work out for the Royals.
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