Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be without their captain Sanju Samson for the second consecutive match in IPL 2025, as he continues to recover from an abdominal injury sustained during the Super Over loss to Delhi Capitals (DC).

The franchise confirmed that Samson will remain in Jaipur to continue his rehabilitation under the supervision of RR’s medical staff.
“Samson is currently undergoing recovery and will remain at the team’s home base (Jaipur) with select RR medical staff,” a statement from the team read. “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 assess his availability on a game-by-game basis.”

In his absence, Riyan Parag will once again lead the side. Parag had previously taken on the captaincy earlier this season when Samson was sidelined with a finger injury sustained during the T20I series against England. As stand-in captain, Parag has scored 105 runs in four matches at a strike rate of 147.88.

Samson began IPL 2025 in fine form with a 66 off 37 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad and has consistently made strong starts. In his last appearance against DC, he retired hurt after scoring 31 off 19 balls and did not return for the Super Over.

With Samson still out, 14-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who impressed on debut, is expected to open the innings again alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the upcoming match against RCB in Bengaluru.