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Sanju Samson Injured Against England; 3 Players Who Can Replace RR Captain In IPL 2025



Sanju Samson sitting out after injury (Source: @memerbhoiii/X.com)Sanju Samson sitting out after injury (Source: @memerbhoiii/X.com)

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Sanju Samson had a wonderful 2024 in the shortest format, and made his mark both in IPL and at the international level. His best IPL season in terms of runs was the last season while he also scored three hundreds in T20Is. The wicketkeeper batter though failed to make an impact in the five-match T20I series against England, and in the last game, hurt his finger as well.

It resulted in him not coming out on the field in the second innings and Dhruv Jurel kept wickets for India at the Wankhede. The intensity of Sanju Samson's injury is still unknown, but if it turns out to be serious, and he misses IPL, let's see who can be the three potential replacements for Rajasthan Royals skipper.

3. Matthew Short

Sanju Samson is an Indian cricketer and ideally Rajasthan would want an Indian in his place. However, they have young Vaibhav Suryavanshi in their ranks, as a backup Indian opener, so they might also go for an overseas star. In such a case, Australian opener, Matthew Short can be a good choice.

The right-handed opening batter is a powerful hitter of the ball and is playing regularly for Australia at the international level. He played six games in 2023 IPL, but has matured a lot since then, and has close to 3000 runs in T20s with a strike-rate of 146.16. He has two hundreds and 18 fifties in the format and recently hit 236 runs in BBL which included a century as well.

Along with the bat, Short is a handy bowler too, and has the knack of getting breakthroughs in the powerplay with his off-break. Therefore, he is a complete package in T20s and can be a good replacement of Sanju Samson, if he misses out.

2. Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal was one of the high-profile Indian names to go unsold in IPL 2025 auction. His performances in IPL have not been upto the mark in the last three seasons, but he is a quality batter and has 2661 runs in the league which includes a hundred and 13 fifties. He has the experience of delivering at the international level too, and has led Punjab Kings in the past.

So, having an experienced player like him in the camp in place of a captain Sanju Samson can help Rajasthan Royals. Also, Mayank did well in SMAT 2024, hitting 179 runs at a strike-rate of 152.99. His did even better in Vijay Hazare Trophy where he smashed 651 runs in 10 innings at a strike-rate of 107.60 and at a stunning average of 93. So, he is the man in form and could make a strong comeback if given a chance in IPL 2025.

1. Prithvi Shaw

One of the biggest surprises of IPL 2025 auction was Prithvi Shaw going unsold at a base price of 75 Lakhs. The right-handed opening batter is known for his aggressive batting in the powerplay, and once was touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket. He played for Delhi Capitals from IPL 2018 to 2024, but indifferent performances from the last few seasons led to his exclusion.

The batter though still has the ability to change the game with his strokeplay and has 2902 runs in 117 T20s. His average is 25.01, but the career strike-rate of over 151 shows what kind of an impact he can make and has a century and 20 fifties in the format. In SMAT 2024, he did not get big scores, but gave his team some good starts and had a strike-rate of 156.35. It makes him a good like-for-like replacement at the top of the order for Sanju Samson and the setback after the exclusion can also help him come back with more determination in the upcoming IPL edition.