New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson is a doubtful starter for the Indian Premier League (2025) clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Samson is still recovering from a side strain he suffered in Royals’ previous match against the Delhi Capitals on Wednesday, with the team awaiting scans to determine the extent of the injury.
Samson left the field after suffering an injury in the sixth over of his team’s chase against the Capitals. When he retired hurt due to the side injury, Samson was batting beautifully on 31 off 19 balls.
The RR skipper grimaced in pain after attempting a cut off Vipraj Nigam, following which the team physio checked on the left side around his rib. Samson played the next ball but retired hurt a few minutes later. Samson’s injury came as a massive blow for RR, who went on to tie the match and ended up losing the thrilling affair in a Super Over.
“Sanju experienced a bit of pain in the abdominal area,” head coach Rahul Dravid told the media on Friday.
“So we have gone for scans. He has done some scans today so we are waiting the results of those scans. And then once we get a bit more clarity around the scans and the severity of (the strain) we’ll take a decision going forward and we’ll see what happens.”
Samson’s injury: Extent and recovery timeline
Samson started the season with an injured thumb. For the first three matches, he could only function as a batter as Riyan Parag took charge of RR. He is likely to lead RR again in case Samson misses out.
Samson played as an Impact Player in RR’s first three games and made a return as captain and wicketkeeper after he was cleared by the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. Samson is fresh from a finger surgery last month, and in his absence, Dhruv Jurel was RR’s wicketkeeper.
Under Parag’s leadership, RR lost against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the first two games. After bouncing back to win against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), RR suffered three successive games and find themselves eighth on the points table.
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson is a major doubt for their upcoming IPL 2025 match against Lucknow Super Giants due to a side strain sustained in their previous game. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
