IPL 2021: The coin for the toss looked brilliant, so I pocketed it, but the referee did not allow it – Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson made a hilarious start to his Rajasthan Royals (RR) captaincy career. Even before a ball was bowled in the Rajasthan Royals-Punjab Kings (PBKS) game in IPL 2021, Sanju Samson was censured by the match referee Manu Nayyar, a former Delhi batsman.

Flipping the coin for the first time in his IPL career, Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bowl. Before Nayyar could pick up the coin, the new RR skipper pocketed it.

Throwing light on the incident after the match, Sanju Samson said:

“The coin (at the toss) looked brilliant, so I pocketed it. I asked the referee if I can have it, but he said no.”

Here’s the video of the hilarious incident:

pic.twitter.com/rMcmRQsTLY

— Cricsphere (@Cricsphere) April 12, 2021

Happy to play my natural game no matter what: Sanju Samson

It was a mixed day for Sanju Samson, though. He didn’t get to keep the coin and ended up losing the game on his IPL captaincy debut, but he played a blinder to become the first centurion of IPL 2021.

Chasing a massive 222 for victory, Sanju Samson, who walked into bat in the first over, kept the team in the hunt until the final ball. Needing 5 runs to win off the final ball, the 26-year-old failed to clear the man at the boundary. His strokeful 63-ball 113 will be counted among the most beautiful knocks in the history of the tournament.

Often criticised for throwing his wicket away, a factor that has harmed his chances with the national team, Sanju Samson stated at the ceremony that he will continue to trust the process and play his natural game.

“It automatically happens when I focus on my skills and watch the ball and react. When I am in the zone and watching the ball well, the sixes come out naturally, and in that process, I tend to lose my wickets also. Happy to play that way no matter what,” said Sanju Samson after winning the Player-of-the-Match award.

The Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals will take on the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals in a clash of new captains on Thursday at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.