Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday announced that keeper-batsman Sanju Samson is leading the side in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.
The Royal’s team owner Manoj Badale explained why Sanju is captaining the side. “Sanju is at the start of his journey as a leader. He is understated and a strong individual. The wicketkeeper is a great position to captain the side,” Badale said, adding that Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara will be joining the team as director of operations.
Sanju captained the Kerala side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. On Tuesday, Harayana beat Kerala to knock them out of the tournament.
During the deadline day for IPL teams to retain players ahead of the mini-auction in February, Rajasthan took a difficult decision to part ways with former captain Steve Smith. Considering Smith’s poor run last season with the bat and captaincy, the team felt it would be better to release him at Rs 12.5 crore.
Several big overseas players have gone back into the auction pool like Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Sheldon Cottrell, and many more. Franchises have also released several big Indian players like Umesh Yadav, Kedar Jadav, Murali Vijay, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh.
