Rajasthan Royals have gotten off to a shaky start to their IPL (Indian Premier League) 2025 campaign. The side, after losing their first two matches of the tournament against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, Royals managed to win the game against Chennai Super Kings, registering a thrilling win.
Throughout their first three matches, regular skipper Sanju Samson played as an impact player for the side. All-rounder Riyan Parag was named the stand-in skipper for the first three games in Samson’s absence. Samson, after playing as an impact player in the first three matches, will play his first game as a regular player and will also lead Rajasthan Royals in their upcoming clash against Punjab Kings. He also came forward and talked about his experience as an impact player.
"To be very honest, I was a bit surprised. I was like ‘Ho jayega teen match bahar baithna hai’ (I was thinking it will pass quickly as it’s only a matter of three games). But missing three games, I was just holding myself back and seeing the game from a different perspective," Samson told reporters.
"So, it was a bit of a different learning experience… to sit in the dug-out and see my brothers fighting it out there. So to be honest, I am pretty excited to be back and to be fully fit to keep wickets and to bat,” Samson added.
It is interesting to note that Sanju Samson has been unable to get off to a good start in the IPL 2025 so far. After a good innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Samson failed to perform in his next two matches, departing quite early. Furthermore, the star batter talked about how difficult it can get to juggle multiple roles for Royals. Notably, Samson has been leading the franchise full-time since 2021 and has led them to the final in 2022 as well.
“It's something very new to me. I think captaining a side as well as opening and keeping wickets. It’s definitely a challenging task. So I am very much looking forward to it. I think every IPL season brings something new to my career. So I have accepted it, and I am learning from it. So it’s very exciting, and I am looking forward to how I can contribute in all these three departments,” Samson explained.