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Photograph: (Source: @ESPNcricinfo X)
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The Rajasthan Royals announced on March 20 that Riyan Parag will captain the team for the first three IPL 2025 games. Regular captain Sanju Samson suffered a finger injury, necessitating the stop-gap arrangement. Samson is expected to participate as a pure batsman till he receives the all-clear to field and take wickets. After he is fully recovered, he will return as captain.
The Royals uploaded the video of Sanju Samson declaring Parag the captain during a squad meeting on their official social media accounts to reaffirm the announcement. Their post was captioned, “Update: Sanju will be playing our first three games as a batter, with Riyan stepping up to lead the boys in these matches!"
Riyan Parag takes the lead:
💪 Update: Sanju will be playing our first three games as a batter, with Riyan stepping up to lead the boys in these matches! 💗 pic.twitter.com/FyHTmBp1F5
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 20, 2025
Samson, who joined the Royals team on Monday, had surgery on his finger last month and then attended the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for rehabilitation. Until he is fully fit, Samson will probably be used as an Impact Sub, and Dhruv Jurel will likely shoulder wicketkeeping responsibilities. In February, during the fifth Twenty20 International match against England, Jurel replaced Samson when a rising delivery from Jofra Archer struck the latter on the finger.
Since starting his IPL career with the same team in 2019, Riyan Parag will be leading the Royals for the first time. The Assamese right-handed batsman had a difficult season and was heavily criticized for his subpar batting efforts over his first five seasons, but he made amends last season and became one of the league's best players. In 16 games for the team, the batter amassed 573 runs with a strike rate of almost 150 (149.3).
The Royals will play Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 23 to start the season. On March 26, they will play the reigning champion Kolkata Knight Riders at home, and on March 30, they will play the five-time champion Chennai Super Kings.
Watch this space for more cricket news.
