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Riyan Parag gives fresh details on Sanju Samson's injury, is unsure of RR captain's return date in IPL 2025
Samson, who retired hurt after experiencing pain while batting against the Delhi Capitals, is currently in Jaipur, working on his rehab with RR's medical team.
Rajasthan Royals stand-in captain Riyan Parag confirmed that regular skipper Sanju Samson has suffered a side strain, making it difficult for the RR team management to put a return date for his availability in IPL 2025. Samson, who retired hurt after experiencing pain while batting against the Delhi Capitals, is currently in Jaipur, working on his rehab with the RR medical team.
Against DC, Samson was seen in visible pain when he attempted a cut shot off the bowling of Vipraj Nigam. The physio then checked the left side around his rib. Samson retired soon after and did not come out to bat again.
"Sanju bhaiya is recovering, we're taking it game by game. He has a side strain. We hope he will be back soon," Parag said after winning the toss and opting to bowl against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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On the eve of the match, RR head coach Rahul Dravid had said something similar about Samson's fitness.
Dravid said regular RR skipper Sanju Samson’s fitness is getting assessed on a daily basis. “Sanju, I think, sort of picked up a bit of a side issue with the game against Delhi (Capitals) and he couldn't play the last game and in this game as well. He wasn't fit and our medical team sort of didn't rule him fit to play this game.
“So, we took the decision and the medical advice to not risk him to travel — make two more flights and be here. We kept the physio back so that we can treat him and try and get him back as quickly as we possibly can. We’re looking at it on a day-to-day basis.”
The former India coach did not give any specific time-line for Samson’s return.
“I have no time-line to give as to when exactly he will be fit, but we're trying our best, you know, obviously we've got to play here, after this we've got a game on (April) 27th and we've got a few games quickly and then we've got a gap.
"So, we'll just have to see how it goes. Honestly, he was not fit for this game and he didn't travel here,” he added.
Dravid said Riyan Parag has stepped in effectively as the captain of the side in the absence of Samson despite a few matches not going the team’s way.
“Sanju is still the captain of the team and Riyan is the vice-captain and he stepped in really well. I think Riyan had captained four of the games, even in the first three games, in fact, Sanju wasn't able to field because of the finger injury.
