With Sanju Samson’s stunning trade to Chennai Super Kings ahead of IPL 2025, Rajasthan Royals suddenly find themselves searching for a new leader. And the name at the top of the list is Riyan Parag, who captained RR in eight matches last season when Samson was injured. Riyan is aware that he is one of the frontrunners, but the 24-year-old insists he isn’t letting the captaincy talk cloud his head. “I captained in seven to eight matches in the IPL last season. In the dressing room, when we would analyse decisions, I have done things right 80 to 85 per cent,” he said in an interaction with The Hindu.
He added that the Royals management has not finalised anything yet. “Manoj [Badale] sir has said the decision [on captaincy] will be taken after the auction. If I think about that now, I will ruin my mental space. If the team management feels I am the right fit for captaincy, I am ready to put my hand up. If they feel that, as a player, I can contribute more, I am ready for that also.” Riyan also opened up on the unseen workload that comes with leadership in the IPL. “Everyone has the misconception that captaincy is easy. Yes, there is an element of fame in captaincy, but it reduces the element of cricket to 20 per cent. You have to attend all the meetings, attend sponsor shoots, and answer the media. I need to develop these things as a person.” As he gears up to join the senior leadership group of the Royals, Riyan admitted that Samson’s exit will leave a void on and off the field. “I don’t want to think about his [Samson’s] absence, because then I will feel bad. I was very close to Sanju bhaiya when I came into the team. He never let me feel that I was a 17 or 18-year-old boy from Assam. He also came from that background, at 16-18, and helped me the way he would have been helped at that time. In the last two years, he would give me vice-captaincy in Jos bhai’s absence. He would ask me to talk to the bowlers and attend team meetings, and take the lead.” Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings pulled off one of the biggest trades in IPL history, sending Samson to CSK in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. Samson had been retained for INR 18 crore, and he joins CSK on the same fee. CSK had kept Jadeja for INR 18 crore earlier, but his fee has now been reset to INR 14 crore as part of the trade. Curran’s 2.4-crore deal remains unchanged.
