Why “not completely fit” Sanju Samson should stay benched in IPL 2025 until he fully recovers

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson will play the first three IPL 2025 matches as a pure batter. The Kerala keeper-batter, who sustained a fracture on his right index finger earlier this year, was cleared by the NCA just recently. While he has confirmed that he isn’t completely fit yet, it would be wise for Sanju to warm the bench until he recovers fully.

Samson should take no risk at all in IPL 2025

Samson has only received clearance to play as a batter and not as a keeper yet. By forcing himself to play the first three games, Sanju could be putting his entire stint in IPL 2025 at risk. The reason? His injury could only get aggravated. And this would spell disaster for Rajasthan Royals even before the tournament could reach the halfway stage.

RR will be relying heavily on the opening combo of Samson and Jaiswal to provide them with the perfect explosive start needed, especially in the powerplay. The team will have a tough task of finding a replacement for Sanju should he be ruled out of the tournament.

RR, one of the strongest sides on paper in IPL 2025, do not have a lot of batting options. Perhaps, this is the reason why Samson is forced to play the first three games without regaining full fitness. The one-time champions have 10 batters in their squad. Out of these ten, eight are almost sure to be a part of the playing XI. That leaves RR with very little options to replace Samson, should he be benched.

“I think I’m not completely fit for the next three games. So I think, there are lot of leaders in this group. I think from last few years, there have been some great people who have taken care of this environment. But for the next three games, Riyan will be leading the team,” Samson said.