Newly appointed Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson said he never thought he would be leading the inaugural champions one day in the Indian Premier League.
Samson, who has been named skipper for RR ahead of IPL 2021, added that there are several things doing the rounds in his head right now, but he would like to keep things simple with regards to his approach as a leader.
A talented wicketkeeper-batsman from Kerala, Samson, joined RR when he was only 19-year-old back in 2013. He has been a crucial member of the set up in the last eight years.
RR’s eighth-place finish in the previous edition of the IPL in UAE last year prompted a change in leadership, as the franchise released Steve Smith and appointed Samson as their leader of men.
During an interaction with Rajasthan Royals (RR), Samson revealed that it was team owner Manoj Badale who asked him to take up the captaincy duties. Samson is happy about being identified as Royals’ next leader. He recently led his state side Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 competition.
I am very much looking forward to leading the Royals,
Samson was quoted saying over RR’s website.
Definitely, a lot of different thoughts are going through my mind, but I would like to keep it simple. I am happy to take on this role. To be very honest, until last year, I never felt that I may possibly be the leader of the Royals. Our lead owner, Manoj Badale, told me that the franchise wants me to lead the team and asked me to take up this role,
he added.
Samson hasn’t captained at a level of IPL’s competitiveness before but he’ll have the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and other senior players to feed off when it comes to the experience. The 26-year-old will also have a guiding light available in the form of RR’s Director of Cricket and former Sri Lanka captain, Kumar Sangakkara.
Samson mentioned he is excited to work along with Sangakkara, one of the finest batsmen during his playing days, with an excellent record across all formats of the game. Like Samson in the captaincy role, the stint with RR will be Sangakkara’s first as part of an IPL team’s support staff.
This is a dream come true, and it was very exciting to know that I will be working so closely with a legend like Kumar Sangakkara,
said Samson.
Samson was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise lacklustre RR campaign in IPL 2020. The prodigiously talented right-hand batsman made 375 runs at a strike-rate of 158.89 even as RR finished last in the points table, with only six wins and eight losses in their 14 matches.
In his overall IPL career, featuring matches previously for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Samson has made 2,584 runs from 107 games at a strike-rate of 133.74. His career tally includes two centuries and thirteen half-centuries.
RR had to release Smith after his poor form and the balance issues their team had with him as one of the first-choice overseas personnel. Smith had a decent strike-rate of 131.22 but averaged only 25.91 despite playing the role of anchor in the batting unit. Smith’s 311 runs in the campaign weren’t good enough to earn retention for the following season as RR felt he can’t be one of their four overseas players in the XI anymore.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be kickstarting their IPL 2021 campaign on April 12 in Mumbai against Punjab Kings (PBKS).
