Until last year, never felt I will be leading the Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson, the newly-appointed captain of the Rajasthan Royals franchise, has said that he had never imagined that he would take over the leadership of the franchise. He also revealed that there are several things that are going through his mind, but he would want to start the season by keeping things simple.

The Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman has been with the franchise since 2013 when he joined them as a 19-year-old boy. Since then, he has been an important member of their set-up. After an eight-placed finish in the previous season of the IPL, Steve Smith was released from the squad and Samson was appointed as the new skipper.

Samson, during an interaction, revealed that the Royals team owner Manoj Badale had asked him to take up the role. He expressed his happiness in being named the captain of the franchise. He had also recently led Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2021, earlier this year.

Excited to work with Kumar Sangakkara, says Sanju Samson

“I am very much looking forward to leading the Royals. Definitely, a lot of different thoughts are going through my mind, but I would like to keep it simple. I am happy to take on this role. To be very honest, until last year, I never felt that I may possibly be the leader of the Royals. Our lead owner, Manoj Badale, told me that the franchise wants me to lead the team and asked me to take up this role,” Sanju Samson was quoted as saying on Rajasthan Royals’ website.

Samson will have a tough task on hand in his maiden season as a captain. He would have the likes of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler to fall back on for experience. Royals have also added former Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara to their mix as a director of cricket ahead of the IPL 2021.

Samson said that he is quite excited to work with Kumar Sangakkara closely. This will be the first time the Sri Lanka Legend will take a support staff role in the cash-rich league. “This is a dream come true, and it was very exciting to know that I will be working so closely with a legend like Kumar Sangakkara,” Sanju Samson added.