Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals have named Riyan Parag as their new captain for the upcoming season as regular skipper Sanju Samson struggles with fitness. Parag will lead the side in the opening three matches of the IPL 2025 season starting on Saturday (Mar 22). Samson will return to the captaincy role once fit and will participate in all the matches only as a pure batter.

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Riyan Parag to lead RR for three matches

“Rajasthan Royals have announced that Riyan Parag will lead the team for the first three matches of IPL 2025. The young all-rounder will take charge in the opening fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 23, followed by home encounters against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on March 26 and five-time champions Chennai Super Kings on March 30,” a statement on Rajasthan Royals’ website read.

In an announcement made on Thursday, the 2008 champions opted to hand Parag the captaincy while Samson continues to recover from a thumb injury he suffered during the Ranji Trophy season. The injury also kept him out of the Ranji Trophy final where his side finished runners-up. However, despite this Samson will continue to feature as a batter in the side indicating he could be used as a make away for the Impact Player.

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Samson will be expected to feature during the batting innings before RR can use their Impact Player option. In this scenario, Dhruv Jurel will keep the wickets for the franchise, giving flexibility in the batting unit.

Under Parag RR will play against SunRisers Hyderabad (away), Kolkata Knight Riders (Guwahati) and Chennai Super Kings (Guwahati) before Samson returns to the captaincy role for the fourth match against Punjab Kings in Chandigarh. RR will play first leg of their home games away in Guwahati before returning to Jaipur, their traditional home on April 13 as they face Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).