Rahul Dravid, the head coach of the Rajasthan Royals, gave an explanation on why Sanju Samson was selected as the team’s top retention pick for the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL).
Ahead of the massive auction that is anticipated to occur at the end of this month, all ten teams revealed their retention lists last week.
Samson, who has captained the squad for the last four seasons, will remain in this position, the Royals stated.
Samson’s retention was a “no-brainer” for the team, according to Dravid, who also claimed that the 29-year-old will continue to captain the team going forward.
“Sanju Samson is our batsman, wicketkeeper and captain. He has been the captain of this team for many years. So, it was a no-brainer for us to retain him as he will be our captain in the future too. He was a top retainer pick for us, and he was very involved in our decision process as well,” Dravid said on JioCinema’s IPL Retention Special.
Samson, who is starting his eleventh season with the Royals, was kept for Rs 18 crore. Under his direction, Rajasthan finished second in the 2022 Indian Premier League and made it to the playoffs twice in the previous four seasons.
Samson has continuously performed well as captain thanks to his bat and leadership abilities. Since 2021, the seasoned player has finished among the team’s top three run scorers each season with 1,835 runs in 60 innings with a strike rate of 147.59.
Additionally, all-rounder Riyan Parag, wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, finisher Shimron Hetmyer, medium bowler Sandeep Sharma, and breakout top-order batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal returned to the team.
“We have decided that we will do six out of six retentions. We will retain Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, and Sandeep Sharma. We came to this decision because we trust our talent. We also trust that we want to maintain and build with that core,” he added.
Dravid also evaluated the advantages of retaining six players and noted, “There is definitely stability when you retain six players. We could only retain six players, but if we could have done more, we would have retained more for sure. We believe that the players we have retained are deserving. Of course, you have less money when you go to the auction, but there is a certain stability that you have blocked in some areas, and then you can see how you have to make the whole team.”