Like Virat Kohli with Royal Challengers Bengaluru or MS Dhoni with Chennai Super Kings, Sanju Samson was arguably the face of the Rajasthan Royals and given his influence, his departure is a momentous occasion for the team, according to former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis.
Samson played for the Rajasthan Royals for 11 seasons during two stints, becoming their highest run scorer and most-capped player. Ravindra Jadeja has joined the RR ranks after Samson was transferred to the Chennai Super Kings.
“If I look at the IPL and the iconic teams we see around the league, all of them have one marquee Indian player in common — someone who has been the face of the franchise for a period of time, (such as) Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli. Sanju Samson, for me, was that guy at Rajasthan Royals,” PTI quoted du Plessis telling JioHotstar.
“Yes, he’s of a newer generation, but he had become the face of that franchise. If I think of Rajasthan Royals, I think Sanju Samson. So, the fact that they’ve lost that face is a massive thing for the fans, for the IPL, and for the tournament, because he’s played such a big role there,” added du Plessis.
He said that Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was free to play his natural game alongside Samson, would take on more responsibility as a result of the former RR captain’s departure.
“The thing with Yashasvi Jaiswal is that he’s had Sanju Samson, who has been such a huge, consistent performer within that batting line-up. When you have that consistency of runs from Sanju, it allows you to play your game,” du Plessis said.
“Now, you take that away, all of a sudden, people will look at him with more responsibility. For a player like him, you don’t want him thinking about responsibility. You want him thinking, ‘I want to take the game on. I want to hit as many sixes as possible’.”
“There’s a learning curve that’s going to come into his career this season, ‘Am I true to the game that I’ve always played, or do I take up the senior player role to score the bulk of the runs?’ So it’ll be interesting to see how that goes. I think he’ll still play in the way that he does. It would be silly not to, because he’s such an attacking player.”
Despite the presence of more seasoned players like Jaiswal, veteran India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, and England’s Sam Curran, former India bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji expressed surprise at the Royals’ decision to name Riyan Parag as captain.
“I’m a little bit surprised with the call, especially when you have players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja and overseas captaincy material like Sam Curran. It is kind of a gamble.”
He believed that the choice to hire Parag would have conflicting results and that head coach Kumar Sangakkara’s advice might be quite helpful.
“Captaining in IPL is not only about on-field ability to take decisions, it’s also about how you manage the dressing room. Your voice needs to be earned, and the trust needs to be earned.
“In that perspective, I feel like it is a double-edged sword. There will be a lot of help from Kumar Sangakkara, definitely, and you need that guidance. We have seen Rohit Sharma doing it as a young captain with Mumbai Indians, players getting used to leadership early.
“I’m sure it is an opportunity for Riyan Parag. If he can manage his performance and translate it on the ground with his leadership, then it is going to help him.”
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, according to Balaji, will need to live upto expectations and prove that last year’s achievements were not a fluke.
“We have seen the kind of talent Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has. He scored that hundred against Gujarat Titans (and) against a very good bowling attack. Of course, the second year is always going to be a kind of challenge for any player,” he said.
“That is where the mentorship of Kumar Sangakkara will come into play. The opposition would definitely have worked on some of his shortcomings. This season will be a huge opportunity and challenge for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as a youngster to get that kind of consistency. How he translates it in the second season is going to be crucial,” added Balaji.
