Riyan Parag will lead Rajasthan Royals for the first three games of IPL 2025. While the Assam batter is the makeshift leader, regular captain Sanju Samson will feature in the matches, albeit as a pure batter, possibly hinting at an impact player role.
Parag’s captaincy news was revealed during an informal team chat by Samson, the video of which was posted by Rajasthan Royals’ social media handles.
“I’m yet to be fully fit for the next three games,” said Samson while addressing the team.
“There are many leaders in this team. Over the last few years, there have been some great people who have taken care of this environment really nicely. For the next three games, Riyan will be leading the team. I expect everyone to support him and be with him.”
SANJU SAMSON ANNOUCING RIYAN PARAG AS ROYALS CAPTAIN IN FIRST 3 GAMES..!!!
– Riyan will lead vs SRH, KKR & CSK. pic.twitter.com/G6F4WYgGD3
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 20, 2025
Samson is positively recovering from the injury to his right index finger, sustained during the home T20Is against England recently. The wicket-keeper batter had to undergo surgery for the same and has made rapid strides in his recovery. While Parag is set to lead in the first three games, Samson will be representing RR at the IPL captains’ meeting in Mumbai.
Sanju Samson making progress:
While Sanju Samson has made satisfactory progress in fitness while batting, there had been noticeable discomfort for the 30-year-old while keeping wickets. In the update mentioned by Cricbuzz last week, a partial clearance was expected for Samson as he was yet to clear the wicket-keeping fitness tests convincingly. The latest update from the RR camp indicates that their regular captain will have to wait till the completion of the third game, after which he has to attend another fitness test at the NCA for his keeping.
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