Rajasthan Royals (RR) are grappling with a deepening crisis in the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025), and the absence of their talismanic captain, Sanju Samson, is proving to be a critical blow.
Following a disheartening 11-run loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday, RR’s pacer Sandeep Sharma admitted that the team is struggling to cope without their regular skipper, whose leadership and batting prowess have been sorely missed.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Sandeep Sharma did not mince words about the void left by Sanju Samson, who is sidelined with a side tear sustained during RR’s dramatic super-over defeat to Delhi Capitals (DC) earlier this month.
Samson’s IPL 2025 campaign has been marred by injuries from the outset. The 30-year-old wicketkeeper-batter missed the first three matches as captain due to a finger injury, forcing him to play as a specialist batter while Riyan Parag took the helm.
After briefly returning to lead the side, Samson’s season took another hit when he retired hurt against Delhi Capitals and was ruled out of RR’s next matches. His absence has now stretched to two matches, including the RCB game, with no clear timeline for his return.
"Obviously, his absence has certainly made a difference. He’s a highly experienced captain and a smart batsman, so not having him in the side has impacted us. He missed the first three matches as captain, and then suffered a side injury again. Naturally, these setbacks are affecting us. All these issues combined are dragging the team down," Sharma said as quoted in the post-match presser.
Rajasthan Royals’ Batting Chokes Again vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
The Royals’ woes were laid bare against RCB, where their batting unit, barring the consistent Yashasvi Jaiswal, failed to fire. Chasing a competitive target of 206 runs, RR fell short despite a promising start, losing by 11 runs.
The side needed 18 runs to win off 12 deliveries with Dhruv Jurel and Shubham Dubey at the crease. However, they bottled the run chase, ending up at 194 runs for the loss of nine wickets.
The loss marked RR’s fifth consecutive defeat, leaving them languishing in eighth place on the IPL 2025 points table with just two wins from nine matches. As RR prepare to face table-toppers Gujarat Titans (GT) in a must-win clash on April 28, the pressure is mounting to arrest their slide and keep their playoff hopes alive.
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