Sanju Samson Leaves Rajasthan Royals’ Camp Midway Through IPL 2025

Sanju Samson didn’t lead the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the first three games of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 and played as an impact player. The biggest reason behind this decision was that he could not keep wickets due to not getting the fitness report from the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

Sanju Samson has now moved to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s academy to seek clearance of keeping wickets. The keeper-batter has flown from Guwahati, where they beat the Chennai Super Kings on March 30, to Bengaluru to seek clearance from the CoE managers.

Sanju Samson flies to Bengaluru for fitness clearance

The Rajasthan Royals’ captain had initially received a partial and temporary go-ahead to play in the ongoing Indian Premier League following his surgery on the right index finger. He is now undergoing testing by the Sports Science wing at the CoE and requests approval to resume his full duties.

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If he grants the permission, then Sanju Samson will return as captain for their next fixture, replacing Riyan Parag. The Assam-born, after losing the first two clashes against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, earned their very first victory of the season against the five-time champions, Super Kings.

The reports have claimed that Samson’s injury has fully healed, and he feels fit enough to carry the gloves in the next IPL 2025 encounters.

“He will seek clearance to do so for the remaining games and is expected to be back as skipper from the RR's next match, which is nearly a week away.” The Cricbuzz report mentioned.

Sanju Samson’s performance in IPL 2025

The Kerala batter, after a sensational 2024 in the T20I format with 436 runs in 12 innings at an average of 43.60 and a strike rate of 180.17, thanks to three centuries and one fifty, went through a struggling period in 2025.

In five games during the home England series, the right-handed batter managed just 51 runs at an average of 10.20 and a strike rate of 118.60, with the best score of 26. The England pacers exposed Samson’s short-ball issues in the entire series.

In Rajasthan’s opening clash of the IPL 2025, Sanju Samson nailed 66 runs in 37 balls, shouldering on seven boundaries and four sixes at a strike rate of 178.38. They were chasing 287 runs against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium and showed his aggressive batting from the very first game.

But at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, the veteran struggled badly with successive low scores. Against KKR, he countered only 13 runs before adding 20 runs against the Super Kings. In all three games, he played as a batter and was substituted as an impact player.

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Dhruv Jurel kept wickets for the side. But if Sanju Samson receives fitness clearance from the BCCI, then he is expected to reclaim the role behind the stumps and resume his captaincy as well.

Sanju Samson eyes to carry the winning momentum for the Rajasthan Royals

The victory against Chennai brought Rajasthan on the board, but they still are in the penultimate position in the points table. They will face the Punjab Kings in an away clash on April 05 in Chandigarh before another fixture on the road against the Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad four days later.

Rajasthan will return to their original home base, the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, to take on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a day game on April 13.