IPL 2025: Why is Sanju Samson not playing in RR vs LSG Match 36?

Sanju Samson will not be available on Saturday, April 19, when the Rajasthan Royals (RR) play the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Riyan Parag will take over as the team’s stand-in captain for the second time.

After suffering a devastating loss to the Delhi Capitals in the Super Over in their most recent match, Rajasthan has to recover quickly. The original champions are in dire need of victories to revive their prospects of making the playoffs, as they have only achieved two victories in seven games. After losing their most recent home game to the Chennai Super Kings, LSG will try to get back on track. Out of seven games, the team captained by Rishabh Pant has won four.

Toss Update

Pant won the toss and opted to bat first, noting that the surface was on the drier side. He said that the team is looking to take the positives and improve on the small areas where they have been lacking. Meanwhile, Parag said he would have bowled first anyway. He mentioned the inclusion of 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi into the lineup in place of Sanju Samson.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi becomes youngest player to play in IPL

Suryavanshi will make his debut on Saturday. At 14 years and 23 days old, he becomes the youngest to play in the IPL. He replaces Samson, who suffered a side strain in the last game against Delhi Capitals. Meanwhile, Prince Yadav comes into the line-up in place of Akash Deep for LSG.

RR vs LSG, Match 36 – What did the captains say?

Rishabh Pant (Lucknow Super Giants)

We’re going to bat first, wicket is looking dry so we want to take advantage. No dew so why not bat first. General thought process was to take the positives. We are lacking in small areas, want to improve on those and take the game forward. Was good to get back into form and contribute. I was not worried about, knew it was round the corner. Sometimes it takes time and I got time in the last game. Prince comes in for Akash Deep.

Riyan Parag (Rajasthan Royals)

We were looking to bowl, it is a little bit warm under lights, should be better than the last time. Vaibhav the youngster comes in. It’s been kinda tricky, we’ve been doing small bits right but we haven’t been able to put a collective performance together, we’ve been having honest chats as a team. We love playing here, we know the conditions well, hope we can put that to good use.

RR vs LSG, Match 36 – Playing XIs

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Riyan Parag (C), Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande

Impact Substitutes: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Kunal Singh Rathore

Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (WK/C), David Miller, Abdul Samad, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Avesh Khan

Impact Substitutes: Ayush Badoni, Mayank Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh