Rajasthan Royals Captain Sanju Samson has not yet joined his other teammates ahead of the IPL 2025 camp and is currently in the National Cricket Academy (NCA) working on his fitness.
According to reports, the wk-batter has passed the fitness test for batting, but there are still concerns over his availability in his wicketkeeping role for the upcoming season.
He is yet to pass the fitness test for the wicketkeeping role and if he fails to clear those, he might be forced to play as a pure batter.
This hints the possibility of Dhruv Jurel (INR 14 crore) would keep the wickets. However, there are chances that Jurel may keep wickets in the first half of the tournament and Samson might take up the roel in the second half to avoid any damage to his finger.
They also have Kunal Rathore as wk-batter in the squad, but with Samson’s recovery is better. Rajasthan Royals have retained Sanju Samson for INR 18 crore and would be hoping that the Kerala batter take them to their second IPL title.
He will be likely to open the innings for Rajasthan Royals this season. Recently, Sanju Samson credited RR Head Coach Rahul Dravid for polishing his captaincy skills.
“It’s quite funny how things work out. In my first season, Rahul sir was the one who spotted me during the trials,” said Sanju Samson.
“He was the captain back then, looking out for young talent. After watching me, he came up to me and said, ‘Okay, can you play for my team?’ said wk-batter.
“Now, I am the captain of the franchise, and Rahul sir has returned after so many years to coach the team. It’s a unique and special feeling. He was always part of the Rajasthan Royals family, and we are all grateful to have him back.
“I have played under him both at Rajasthan Royals and in the Indian team when he was the coach. But now, having him as a coach while I captain the side is something truly special. I am looking forward to learning a lot from him in the coming years, and it’s really exciting.” said Sanju Samson.
Rajasthan Royals will play their first IPL 2025 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 23 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
