IPL cricket: What went wrong for Sanju Samson and Rajasthan Royals?

The Rajasthan Royals have had a horrific IPL season. No playoff spot and a place in the bottom of the points table aptly sum up their nightmare.

Rajasthan’s performances were so abysmal that not once did they look like turning their fortunes around in the T20 cricket tournament. So, it’s not surprising to see them share the bottom rung of the IPL ladder with the Chennai Super Kings.

The missteps occurred long before the Indian Premier League 2025 got going — even before the auction. They retained Shimron Hetmyer and released Jos Buttler, which didn’t make sense. Why would they do that? Buttler has been a scoring machine for Rajasthan, so that move was indeed baffling.

Buttler continues to be a leading scorer this season, too, and the Gujarat Titans have benefitted immensely from it. And Hetmyer has largely been invisible. That has been one of the reasons for Rajasthan’s late-order collapses. The West Indian’s late-thrust that lifted them to victories was missing this season, and they lost several close encounters.

Rajasthan’s woes mirrored the injury troubles of their captain Sanju Samson. Having failed to recover fully from his finger injury, Riyan Parag led the side while Samson was reduced to an impact player.

When Samson regained full fitness and seemed like running into form, he suffered an abdominal injury while batting against the Delhi Capitals. While Samson remained in the dugout for three weeks, Rajasthan lost three of their four crucial games and the hopes of a last-four slot evaporated.

Samson returned for the game against Punjab Kings, but Rajasthan endured another agonising loss. Despite missing four matches, Samson is one of the leading scorers for Rajasthan. That actually points to a lack of consistency in their batting — swift starts from the openers were often squandered by the late middle order, and that has been their story thus far.

The brightest spot for Rajasthan has been the rise of Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The 14-year-old was an inspired pick at the auction, and the decision to pitchfork him into action was bolder. The youngster repaid the trust with a 35-ball century — the second fastest in the tournament’s history.

Suryavanshi formed a formidable opening pair with another youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal. The two gave Rajasthan electric starts that fizzled out when the batsmen who followed failed to capitalise.

Not just that. The bowling too suffered. Jofra Archer came in for Trent Boult, but the English fast bowler wasn’t as incisive. Boult early strikes had been a feature of Rajasthan wins in the past. And Sri Lankan leggie Wanindu Hasaranga couldn’t replicate the wicket-taking of Yuzvendra Chahal.

As the season draws to a close, Rajasthan and coach Rahul Dravid should look at how to return next year with a stronger squad. They have the elements of a good team, but crucial changes in the batting and bowling departments are required. And they will need Samson to be fit enough to lead them in the battles ahead.