Sanju Samson, the star wicketkeeper-batter, visited the BCCI’s Center of Excellence (CoE) to get approval for wicketkeeping. On Monday, March 31, he traveled from Guwahati to Bengaluru to meet CoE officials. After surgery on his right index finger, the Rajasthan Royals captain was first given only partial permission to play in the IPL. As per Cricbuzz, the CoE’s Sports Science team will now check his fitness before allowing him to take up full duties again.
If Sanju gets approval to keep wickets, he will also take back the captaincy. Due to his partial clearance earlier, he had handed over the leadership to Riyan Parag and played as an Impact Player in the Royals’ first three matches this season. However, sources say he now feels fully fit to resume wicketkeeping, as his thumb injury has completely healed.
“He will seek clearance to do so for the remaining games and is expected to be back as skipper from the RR’s next match, which is nearly a week away,” said a source.
Rajasthan Royals IPL 2025 Journey So Far
Sanju has played three matches this season purely as a batter, without fielding. He scored 66 against SRH, 13 against KKR, and 20 against CSK. During this period, Dhruv Jurel performed the wicketkeeping duties. If he receives full clearance from the BCCI, he will probably be back as both the team captain and wicketkeeper.
The Royals had a shaky start in the IPL losing their first two games before registering their first victory against Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati on Sunday evening. Their next game is against Punjab Kings on April 5, followed by a match against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on April 9. Then they will return to Jaipur for their third home game against RCB on April 13.
