Newly elected captain for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) season, Riyan Parag has opened up about Sanju Samson replacement after the former skipper joined Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a sensational trade. While the Samson void will be massive, RR have not signed anyone as a replacement.
Furthermore, the wicketkeeper-batter has been in sensational form of late. The 31-year-old played a key role in India’s third T20 World Cup win and he himself finished as the Player of the tournament. Given such a stalwart will not be in the ranks anymore, Parag spoke about the possibility of replacing Sanju Samson.
Speaking at the pre-season media conference, Riyan Parag said, “If you talk about Sanju bhaiya, we never think about replacing the kind of player he is. We can perhaps look for someone with a similar skillset or have someone bat in his position. It’s like there is no replacement for Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, and in the same way, there is no replacement for Sanju bhaiya because he is such a good player.”
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The reason RR have not signed anyone to fill in Sanju’s gap is because they have the next big thing in Indian cricket – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 14-year-old had a breakout last season where he slammed the fastest IPL century by an Indian off just 35 balls and the second-fastest overall after Chris Gayle. Since then, his curve has only gone uphill, smashing records in bilateral games while also playing a pivotal cog in India U19’s record sixth World Cup win earlier this year, including a 175 in the final.
Echoing on the youngster’s promise, Parag added, “I feel that what he has done over the last one year is something very few young players have managed. It reflects both our diversity and the immense talent in the country.”
On the other hand, Sanju Samson will be filling in big boots at the Chennai camp, as a prospective long-term replacement and a leadership figure for MS Dhoni. CSK have also roped in young Kartik Sharma, who like MS is a finisher and a wicketkeeper.
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