Riyan Parag, Rajasthan Royals’ stand-in skipper, gave an update on the fitness of the regular captain Sanju Samson, who is recovering from a side strain. The side strain, incurred during a game against the Delhi Capitals, created doubts about the precise timeline of Samson’s return to competition in IPL 2025.
Samson was clearly in distress after trying a cut shot off Vipraj Nigam’s delivery during the DC game. He then retired hurt, with pain in the area of his left rib. He has been in Jaipur since, working very closely with the Rajasthan Royals medical staff on his rehab. Parag said, “Sanju bhaiya is recovering, we’re taking it game by game. He has a side strain.”. We hope to have him back soon.” No specific timeframe has been announced for his recovery, however.
Dravid’s Daily Reviews and Team Planning
Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid had a similar view, indicating that Samson’s fitness is being tested on a daily basis. He mentioned, “Sanju, I think, somehow got a little bit of an issue with the game against Delhi, and he couldn’t feature in the last game and even this game. He wasn’t fit, and our medical team didn’t clear him fit to play this game.” Dravid was clear in his statement that the team didn’t want to hurry Samson back to fitness but wanted to get him completely fit.
Riyan Parag’s Captaincy in Samson’s Absence
Since Samson was out, Riyan Parag has become the captain of the team. Parag’s captaincy was appreciated by Dravid, who said, “Sanju is still the captain of the team and Riyan is the vice-captain and he stepped in really well. I think Riyan had captained four of the games, even in the first three games, in fact, Sanju wasn’t able to field because of the finger injury.”
