The wicket-keeper batter of India and the captain of Rajasthan Royals (RR), Sanju Samson, has dropped a bombshell and has revealed a new role for the upcoming 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The veteran has been part of the franchise for nearly 12 years and led him since the 2021 edition.
Sanju Samson grew up for the Indian side in the shortest format this year with 436 runs in 12 innings at an average of 43.60 and a strike rate of more than 180 with the help of five half-centuries and one century at the best score of 111.
The Kerala-born has also contributed with the bat for the Royals in most of the seasons. The right-handed batter is the leading run-getter of the franchise with 3934 runs in 141 innings at an average of 31.72 and a strike rate of around 140 with the help of 25 half-centuries and a couple of centuries at the best score of 119.
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In the previous season of the event, Sanju Samson smashed 531 runs in 15 innings at an average of 48.27 and a strike rate of around 153, shouldering on five half-centuries at the best score of 86. Under his captaincy, the Royals finished as the runners-up of IPL 2022, losing the final against Gujarat Titans (GT).
Sanju Samson to hand over wicket-keeping duties for RR in IPL 2025
The inaugural champions of the event entered the auction with the lowest price of INR 41 crore, which saw them retaining six players. Both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Samson resigned from the franchise for a price of INR 18 crore. Riyan Parag, who had already featured for the Indian side by then, joined Dhruv Jurel for a budget of INR 14 crore each in the cycle.
The only overseas member of the pink team in the left-handed explosive lower order batter of the West Indies, Shimron Hetmyer, for a salary of INR 11 crore. The only uncapped player of the side was Sandeep Sharma, a veteran pacer, for a price of INR 4 crore, thanks to the new rule of the IPL.
Sanju Samson revealed that he is set to give up the wicket-keeping gloves for the upcoming 18th edition of the tournament besides hinting that he requested Jurel for the role, The RR captain has highlighted the prospect of leading the team as a fielder but hasn’t given up the gloves totally being in the scheme of things and sharing the duty.
“I have not said this on air, but we feel where Dhruv Jurel is at this point of his career as a Test wicket-keeper, he needs to wear the gloves in the IPL. That was a discussion. I think we will be sharing gloves. I have never captained as a fielder.” Sanju Samson expressed during an interaction with the former wicket-keeper and captain of South Africa, Ab de Villiers in a YouTube video.
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“That might be challenging. I told him, ‘Dhruv, I understand where you are coming from, and I think as a leader of the team, you should also keep for a few games.’ We will see how to play around with that, but nothing should come before the team. The team should come first, and the individual must be given importance.” Sanju Samson addressed.
The last outing for the batter without the gloves came in 2022. Even with the presence of Jos Buttler in the side for a long time, Buttler has taken over the wicket-keeping duties in 111 encounters. He will hope to extend the same batting performance to carry them to the crown.