Sanju Samson cleared by CoE to keep wickets; set to return as Rajasthan Royals captain

MUMBAI: In a big boost for the Rajasthan Royals, India's T20 'keeper-bat and opener Sanju Samson is set to resume his captaincy and wicketkeeping duties after being cleared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. The Rajasthan Royals captain, who had a fractured right index finger that required surgery, had travelled to Bengaluru from Guwahati earlier this week to seek clearance from the CoE's medical team for keeping wickets and fielding ."Yes, he has cleared the final fitness tests at the NCA," a reliable source in the BCCI told TOI.It means that Samson will be leading the Rajasthan Royals in their next match on April 5 against Punjab Kings at Mullanpur.Samson had initially received only a partial clearance to play in the first three matches of the IPL-2025, where he was allowed to bat, but not field or keep wickets. Consequently, the Rajasthan Royals opted to play him as mostly an Impact Player, giving the captaincy to allrounder Riyan Parag.Also See: IPL Live Score 2025, RCB vs GTSamson has enough time to return to the wicketkeeping duties, provided he clears a few "final fitness tests" as a source put it.Samson has made scores of 66 (vs SRH), 13 (vs KKR), and 20 (vs CSK) in the three games he has played so far purely as a batter as an Impact Player. In his absence, Dhruv Jurel kept wickets for the team. The Royals have had a mixed start to their IPL campaign, losing their first two games before opening their account with a win against Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati on Sunday night.