Rajasthan Royals’ decision did not sit well with fans on social media, who lashed out at the franchise for ignoring Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Rajasthan Royals made a major announcement on Thursday as all-rounder Riyan Parag was named the makeshift captain for the first three games of the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The decision was taken after regular skipper Sanju Samson revealed he would feature in the opening few games solely as a batter. However, the decision did not sit well with fans on social media, who lashed out at the franchise for ignoring Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Riyan Parag will lead Rajasthan Royals in first three matches in IPL 2025
The announcement was made by Samson during an informal chat, as seen in the video Rajasthan released on social media. “I’m yet to be fully fit for the next three games,” said Samson. “There are many leaders in this team. Over the last few years, there have been some great people who have taken care of this environment really nicely. For the next three games, Riyan will be leading the team. I expect everyone to support him and be with him.”
This will be the first time Parag will lead an IPL team, having previously proved his worth in the role for the Assam team in domestic cricket. The decision also came a year after the youngster’s career-changing IPL season, where he scored 573 runs, the most by an RR batter and third-highest overall, on the back of which he earned his maiden breakthrough into the Indian team.
However, social media users reckoned Jaiswal was “robbed” of the position, especially amid his consistent performance for the franchise. With Rajasthan being criticised for overlooking the India star, who was recently in discussion in a report claiming that he is in the fray to take over national team captaincy duties from Rohit Sharma in the future, Jaiswal was bluntly told, “He is killing his career in Rajasthan Royals.”
Why will Samson miss the first few games?
The wicketkeeper-batsman injured his right index finger during the T20I series against England earlier this year and had to undergo surgery. Following this, he went through rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. Samson joined the RR camp on Monday, but while he has been cleared to bat, it is understood that medical and sports science teams at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence have told him to give his fingers some more rest before he starts keeping wickets.
Samson will hence likely feature in the opening few games as an Impact Sub, with Dhruv Jurel set to keep wickets.
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