File photo of Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson© AFP
Jaipur:
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson’s participation is in doubt for the against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday as the franchise awaits scan results on an injury to his side. Samson retired hurt after scoring 31 off 19 balls due to a suspected side strain during RR’s recent match against the Delhi Capitals on Wednesday. The RR skipper appeared to be in discomfort after attempting a cut shot off Vipraj Nigam, prompting the physio to examine the left side of his ribcage. Although he faced the next delivery, Samson soon walked off the field. The match ended in a tie, with RR eventually losing in the Super Over. “Sanju experienced a bit of pain in the abdominal area. So we have gone for scans. He has done some scans today so we are waiting the results of those scans. And then once we get a bit more clarity around the scans and the severity of (the injury) we’ll take a decision going forward and we’ll see what happens,” head coach Rahul Dravid said in the pre-match press conference on Friday.
Samson started IPL 2025 while recovering from a thumb injury and played only as a batter in the first three matches. During that period, Riyan Parag stepped in as captain and is expected to do so again if required.
Initially used as an Impact Player, Samson returned to full duties as captain and wicketkeeper after being cleared by the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, following finger surgery last month. In his absence, Dhruv Jurel handled the wicketkeeping responsibilities.
With Parag at the helm, RR suffered defeats in their first two matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but bounced back with a win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Guwahati. They followed that up with a victory over Punjab Kings (PBKS) before losing their next three games. As a result, they currently sit eighth on the points table.
Dravid acknowledged that RR need to improve their execution with the ball towards the end of the innings. “We suffered a little bit with our death bowling. We conceded 77 in the last five, in the last game. The game earlier, we conceded 72. I think that is another area for us that we need to get slightly better with, working with slightly more in execution I think our plans have been pretty good. It is just more around the execution of some of those skills.”
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