Is Sanju Samson playing today's RR vs PBKS IPL 2025 match?

Sanju Samson will lead the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 59 of IPL 2025 against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Sunday, May 18. The Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur will host the exciting contest.

Samson last played for RR on April 16 against Delhi Capitals, where he was retired hurt on 31* off 19 due to an abdominal injury. He then stayed in Jaipur with the team's medical staff, monitoring his progress on a game-by-game basis.

It is worth noting that Sanju Samson played as an Impact Player in the first three games, as he was still recovering from a finger injury. In place of him, Riyan Parag led the Royals.

So far, Samson has garnered 224 runs in seven games at an average of 37.33 and a strike rate of 143.58. His top score of 66 off 37 came against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

After losing the toss, RR will bowl first in the game. Here's what Samson said (via Cricbuzz):

"Wanted to bowl first after how the pitch behaved in the last game against RCB. Let's see how it plays out today. I am okay, hundred percent fit. I would love to respect where he (Suryavanshi) is batting. He has played well for us. I will bat down the order, I come in for Nitish Rana. Maphaka comes in for Jofra Archer."

RR Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson(c & wk), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kwena Maphaka, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Impact Subs: Kumar Kartikeya, Shubham Dubey, Ashok Sharma, Kunal Singh Rathore, Yudhvir Singh Charak.

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Sanju Samson regrets losing out on crucial IPL 2025 games for RR

Sanju Samson expressed his regret at not being part of RR XI in the last five games and contributing to taking them to the playoffs. Notably, he pointed out the side losing crunch games, which resulted in the Royals getting eliminated from the race to the playoffs.

Here's what Samson said in the pre-game press conference (via India Today):

“It was challenging to see the games from the dugout. I have missed out on a lot of crucial games. It was frustrating to see the team losing and not being able to do anything. But these things happen in a cricketing career, and I am trying to look at the positives."

He added:

“The tournament is always challenging, it’s closely fought. A contest can change with one delivery. We lost four games on the final delivery. So, it is not easy to pinpoint the reason, obviously we made mistakes but at times you lose games even after you’ve done most things right. We want to learn from what we’ve done wrong and after the season we will go back to the drawing board."

Currently, RR are positioned ninth in the points table with three wins in 12 games. They will look to win their remaining two games to end IPL 2025 on a high.