Here is why Sanju Samson Isn’t Playing Today’s IPL 2025 Match 36 Against LSG

The 36th match of IPL 2025 features the Rajasthan Royals (RR) facing off against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Winning an important toss, Lucknow Super Giants’ captain Rishabh Pant has elected to bat first. He said that there will be no dew, so it’d be better to bat first. He mentioned that the wicket has remained dry, and batting first would be an advantage. However, the big news ahead of the match is the absence of captain Sanju Samson from the RR playing XI. Youngster Vaibhav Suryavanshi comes in his place.

Lucknow Super Giants Opt to Bat First in Jaipur

Rishabh Pant, leading the Lucknow Super Giants, said that the wicket has remained dry, and batting first would be an advantage. He said that there will be no dew, so it’d be better to bat first. Pant talked about his lack of form and how, in the last match, he was able to get back into it. “No dew so why not bat first. General thought process was to take the positives. We are lacking in small areas, want to improve on those and take the game forward. Was good to get back into form and contribute. I was not worried about, knew it was round the corner. Sometimes it takes time and I got time in the last game.” Pant said.

LSG are playing with key bowlers like Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Digvesh Singh Rathi and Shardul Thakur.

Parag wanted to bowl first

Riyan Parag, captaining the RR side, mentioned that he wanted to bowl first on the wicket. He mentioned it is warmer under the lights now. Moreover, he noted the absence of collective performances in the team. “We were looking to bowl, it is a little bit warm under lights, should be better than the last time. Vaibhav the youngster comes in. It’s been kinda tricky, we’ve been doing small bits right but we haven’t been able to put a collective performance together, we’ve been having honest chats as a team. We love playing here, we know the conditions well, hope we can put that to good use.” Parag said.

Why Sanju Samson is not playing today

In the previous match against Delhi Capitals, Sanju Samson suffered a painful injury to his ribs. Samson had tried to play a pull shot against the Capitals. But he missed the ball, and it hit him on his ribs. He was in pain, and the physio had to attend to him. He played one more delivery before retiring hurt.

Since then, he has undergone scans, and head coach Rahul Dravid noted that a decision on his availability against LSG will be made on the match day. He is out for the game, and youngster Vaibhav Suryavanshi takes his place to become the youngest player to play IPL.

Playing XIs

Lucknow Super Giants Playing XI:

Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), David Miller, Abdul Samad, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Avesh Khan

Rajsthan Royals XI:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Riyan Parag(c), Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande

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