Sanju Samson to miss Royals' game against RCB

Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be without captain Sanju Samson for their away match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday. This is the second successive IPL 2025 match that Samson will miss after suffering an abdominal injury during RR's Super Over defeat to Delhi Capitals (DC).

"Samson is currently undergoing recovery and will remain at the team's home base (Jaipur) with select RR medical staff," the franchise said in a statement. "As part of his ongoing rehab process, he will not be travelling to Bangalore for the upcoming match against RCB. The team management is monitoring his progress closely and will take a game-by-game approach regarding his return to action."

In Samson's absence, Riyan Parag will continue to captain RR. Earlier during the tournament, Parag had also stood in as captain when Samson was recovering from the finger injury he had sustained during the T20I series against England. As captain, Parag has 105 runs in four games at a strike rate of 147.88

Samson had started the tournament as a pure batter with 66 off 37 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad and continued to get starts. In his last game against DC, he scored 31 off 19 balls before retiring hurt. He did not return to bat in the Super Over.

In Samson's absence, 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who enjoyed a sparkling debut, will likely open with Yashasvi Jaiswal once again in Bengaluru.