Sanju Samson, the captain of Rajasthan Royals, has been making headlines lately. He had to retire hurt after scoring a quick 31 off just 19 balls in an IPL 2025 match against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday. The game went into a Super Over after both teams finished tied at 188 runs. In the Super Over, Rajasthan chose not to send in their in-form player Nitish Rana, who scored 51 runs off 28 balls, instead opting for Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, and Riyan Parag.
A video that’s been shared widely on social media shows the Rajasthan senior management, including head coach Rahul Dravid, in a team huddle before the Super Over. You can see Samson in the video, but he seems lost in thought and doesn’t really interact with the others. Some folks online are speculating that there might be some tension in the team because of this. During the huddle, another player says something to Samson, but he just gestures and walks away without saying much.
It was surprising that RR didn’t choose Rana for the Super Over, especially since he had just put up a good score. Instead, they went with Hetmyer, Parag, and Jaiswal, which didn’t work out well as they only scored 11 runs, and had some run-outs on the last two balls. After the game, Rana explained that on-field decisions are made by the management and not just one person. He noted that if they had won, no one would be questioning the choices made.
Rana believes Hetmyer is their go-to finisher and has delivered in critical moments before. He admitted that they could have done better but accepted the outcome of the match.
