IPL 2026: Riyan Parag hails Sanju Samson, says 'he is irreplaceable like Kohli or Rohit'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "IPL 2026: Riyan Parag hails Sanju Samson, says 'he is irreplaceable like Kohli or Rohit'")
IPL 2026: Riyan Parag hails Sanju Samson, says 'he is irreplaceable like Kohli or Rohit' Photograph: (Others)
In November, Sanju Samson was traded to CSK, with Ravindra Jadeja going in the opposite direction. This meant Samson would end his long association with the Rajasthan Royals, where he had served for 12 seasons across two spells.
Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag has hailed Sanju Samson’s impact on the game as he termed the World Cup winners irreplaceable on Thursday (Mar 19). Speaking in a pre-season event, Parag compared Samson to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and said their impact is unparalleled. According to Parag, they can try different players, but replacing Samson will be a huge task. The former skipper in November 2025 was traded to Chennai Super Kings, while Ravindra Jadeja went in the opposite direction.
Parag hails Samson’s impact
"We can only try to look for players with the same skills [like Samson] and someone who can fill the hole left by him in the batting order," Parag said in Jaipur. "Just like you cannot replace Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma in any XI, Samson is irreplaceable.
"But will we plan something new? That's what we've been discussing in the build-up. If you see last season, we lost five or six close games; in fact, a couple of games were last-ball defeats. This season, if those few games go in our favour, then we won't be asked about our issues any longer.
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"In any 40-over game, there will be a few moments where you have to make the right decisions and that's what I'll focus on - like who will bat where, or what to do at the toss - and if we do that well, then this year will be a good one."
In November, Samson was traded to CSK, with Jadeja going in the opposite direction. This meant Samson would end his long association with the Rajasthan Royals, where he had served for 12 seasons across two spells. In a productive career, he scored 4027 runs from 149 matches with a best of 119 and also scored two hundreds.
