The Rajasthan Royals had a below-par Indian Premier League season last year as they finished at the bottom of the table despite having a good start to the tournament.

Rajasthan Royals side led by Steve Smith last year who suffered from were inconsistent form despite having some excellent talent. This time around, RR decided to release their skipper Smith and instead appointed Sanju Samson as the skipper. They also made some excellent buys at the auction such as those of the costliest buy in IPL history, Chris Morris.

Got congratulatory messages from Virat bhai, Rohit bhai and Mahi bhai after becoming RR captain:  Sanju Samson

Speaking to Hindustan Times about being appointed as captain, Sanju Samson said “I look at captaincy as more of a service to the team. A captain is someone who is there to provide the right kind of atmosphere that every individual requires in a team and backs each one of them. It’s a lot about man-management skills—giving positive feedback to your players, understanding where they are coming from.”

Samson then recalled as to how he received messages upon his appointment. “I got some nice congratulatory messages from Virat bhai, Rohit bhai and Mahi bhai,” he said.

“The fact that my team and the franchise trust me to do this job gives great confidence that there is something in me. I firmly believe that a captain is only good if the team is good. The Royals have a quality bunch of great players and amazing support staff backing them,” he added.

Sanju Samson has captained Kerala under-19, and the senior team recently in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Sanju Reckons that they didn’t play badly last year and still they’ve a strong side this year as well. Sanju Samson will look out to put more consistent show with the bat and would hope to return to India’s T20I side.

Rajasthan Royals have big guns overseas players like Ben Stokes, Chris Morris, Jos Butler, Jofra Archer, Mustufizur Rehman and Andrew Tye. This players can single handedly win matches of their side.

Rajasthan Royals face Punjab Kings in Their forst match of the tournament on 12th April, 2021.