'Frustrated' Sanju Samson shares big fitness update ahead of RR vs PBKS clash

Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson has provided an update on his fitness ahead of the 59th match of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025).

Sanju Samson revealed that he has passed his fitness test and is ready to take part in the Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings IPL 2025 match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday, May 18.

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Sanju Samson got injured vs DC

The 30-year-old Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman has had a forgettable run in the Indian Premier League 2025 as he has been constantly troubled by injuries.

He was unable to play the first few matches as captain for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and only came in as an impact player, and just after achieving full fitness, he once again got injured.

Sanju Samson was last seen in action in the match against the Delhi Capitals (DC) at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, where he sustained a fresh injury that completely ruled him out of several games.

While chasing the target in the match against DC, Samson played an attacking brand of cricket, but his innings ended tragically as he picked up an injury when he tried to cut a DC spinner and missed.

He immediately clutched at his left side, around the rib cage, and was given treatment by the physio. On the next delivery, which was a free hit, Samson hit it to long-off but was in pain and was retired hurt

It's been very difficult and challenging to watch the games from the dugout - Sanju Samson

Samson attended the press conference ahead of the match against the Punjab Kings, where he expressed his frustration over missing matches due to injury. He elaborated:

“I passed my fitness test, so I’m available for the game. Yeah, I think 'frustrating' is definitely the right word. It's been very difficult and challenging to watch the games from the dugout.

"I missed out on a lot of crucial matches, which made it even tougher. Mentally, it was hard to see the team losing and not be able to contribute on the field. But these things are part of a cricketing career. I'm trying to take it in my stride and focus on the positives."

The tournament is always challenging, it’s closely fought - Sanju Samson

Rajasthan Royals (RR) have played poor cricket in the ongoing Indian Premier League season and have already been knocked out of the playoffs race.

Sanju Samson was quite disappointed with the way the Rajasthan Royals lost close matches, but said that pinpointing the exact reasons behind their struggles is not possible for him.

“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,” Samson said.