SRH vs RR, IPL 2025: Why is Sanju Samson not captaining Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad?

Sanju Samson won’t be leading the Rajasthan Royals early this season; instead, he will be stepping up as a pure batter for their first three matches in the IPL 2025. The Royals, who took home the championship in 2008, are set to kick off their season against Sunrisers Hyderabad this Sunday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

In a strategic twist, the young and talented Riyan Parag has been given the captaincy for these initial games, while Sanju will serve as an Impact Player. Dhruv Jurel is also ready to take on the wicketkeeping duties for the Royals.

Samson faced an injury during India’s T20I series against England last month when he took a bouncer from Jofra Archer during the fifth T20I in Mumbai. After that, he had to undergo surgery to fix his injured finger.

Post-surgery, Samson went through rehabilitation at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru before rejoining the Rajasthan Royals camp just last week. It’s worth noting that Jofra Archer is also part of the Royals squad, which adds an interesting twist to the team dynamics.

“Riyan Parag was named the Royals captain for their first three matches of IPL 2025 as Samson is still recovering from a right index finger injury sustained during the England series," Rajasthan Royals said.

"Despite being deemed fit enough to contribute as a specialist bowler, Samson is yet to be cleared for his regular wicketkeeping duties,” the franchise added.

At just 23 years old, Riyan Parag made a name for himself by becoming the youngest captain to ever lead the Rajasthan Royals. This gifted cricketer from Assam also earned the title of the fifth-youngest skipper in the entire history of the Indian Premier League.

SRH vs RR playing XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(WK), Aniket Verma, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins(C), Simarjeet Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag(C), Dhruv Jurel(Wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Fazalhaq Farooqi

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