It goes without saying that leading an IPL team is no mean feat. Somebody like Virat Kohli who has an excellent record as skipper in Tests hasn’t been able to guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to a single IPL title since 2011 the year the batting maestro took over the captaincy.

 Sanju Samson has been appointed as the skipper of Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2021. The captaincy role will undoubtedly be a test of character for the youngster.

The wicket-keeper batsman is one of the most exciting cricketers today. He may not be a member of the Indian T20I team at the moment but he has remained in the scheme of things for quite some time as far as the BCCI selectors are concerned.

Proven track record in IPL

Samson has so far played 7 T20Is since making his debut in 2015 at the highest level. In those matches he has scored  83 runs at a strike rate of 118.57. When it comes to the IPL the Kerala born cricketer has a proven track record.

In  79 matches in the IPL Samson has amassed 1,907 runs at a strike rate of 136.21. It includes  1 century and 10 half-centuries. He was the youngest cricketer to reach the milestones of  1,000 runs and 2,000 runs  in the IPL.

Now that he has been made the skipper of the Rajasthan Royals there is a lot of  speculation regarding how Samson will handle the responsibility. 

Prior experience as skipper

He has showed signs in the past that he has got the qualities to become a good leader. Samson was the youngest cricketer to lead a Ranji team. He took over as the captain of the Kerala team during the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy.

Early on in his career he was appointed as the vice-captain of the under- 19 Indian team that participated in the 2014 Under-19 World Cup. Recently he guided Kerala to the third spot in the Elite Group C standings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

 The Rajasthan Royals think tank must have taken into consideration his prior experience as captain before taking the call.

Is it too early for Samson to take up the role in IPL ?

The task of leading an IPL team is a different ballgame altogether. Gautam Gambhir, former Indian cricketer who has the distinction of leading the Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles thinks that Samson has been given the responsibility rather too early in his IPL career.

“ They didn’t have too many options but according to me it is a bit too early for Sanju Samson to captain the Rajasthan Royals”, Gambhir had recently opined in a show aired on Star Sports. The former Indian left-hander further said that he would have preffered Jos Butler for the job.

“ I would have made Jos Butler the captain and given the vice-captaincy to Sanju Samson because he has only recently played for India, so he would have a lot of pressure to cement his place and you know IPL is a very big factor. If you do well in the IPL then somewhere or the other you get considered for the national side in the T20 format”, Gambhir reasoned.

Shreyas Iyer has shown the way     

When Shreyas Iyer was handed over the responsibility to lead the star studded Delhi Capitals franchise he was barely 3 seasons old  in the IPL. Back then he was in the process of cementing his place in Indian team as far as limited overs cricket was concerned.

Capitals qualified for the playoffs after a gap of 7 years   in IPL 2019 under the leadership of Iyer .  Next year the Delhi based franchise reached the final only to loose against Mumbai Indians in UAE. 

Iyer managed to impress one and all with leadership qualities. He not only lead from the front by scoring runs consistently but also displayed calmness and composure whenever the situation demanded of him as a leader.

Kumar Sangakkara can be the guiding force for the rookie captain

Of course Iyer had the guidance of somebody like Ricky Ponting as coach in the Delhi Capitals camp. But in crunch situations when it is all happening out there in the middle the captain has to take the decisions on his own. Iyer is already regarded as one of the most successful captains of IPL.

In 41 matches as captain he has a win percentage of  53.65%. This year Kumar Sangakkara has been appointed as the Director of cricket for the Rajasthan Royals team. The Sri Lankan legend with tons of experience under his belt can be the ideal guiding force  for the rookie captain Samson.

Rishabh Pant comes into the picture

Iyer is going to miss the IPL due to an injury. He had partially dislocated his left shoulder while fielding in the third and final ODI which Team India played against England last month. He has undergone a surgery and there is still time before Iyer returns to action.

In a bold yet somewhat expected move Rishabh Pant has been named as Iyer’s replacement for the top job. It has been a remarkable turnaround of fortunes for Pant who was struggling to retain his place in the Delhi Capitals playing eleven in the last IPL.

He was not in the best of  form and managed to score only 343 runs last season.  A lot has changed after that. Pant has played unbelievable cricket starting from the second Test at Gabba during the Australian tour last year till the last ODI against England played at home before the IPL 2021.

Pant has cemented his place in the Indian team unlike Samson

The left-handed batsman has captured the imagination of the cricketing world with his fearless brand of cricket. So much so that Ponting and the rest of the Delhi Capitals think tank had no qualms in handing over Pant the responsibility to lead the franchise in the 14^th edition of IPL. 

He was chosen despite the fact that the Capitals has among its ranks former Aussie skipper Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin all of whom have past experiences of leading IPL teams.

Pant is riding high on confidence and his wicket-keeping has also improved. He has finally made his spot in the Indian team his own in all formats of the game. As of now he looks set to be the first choice wicket-keeper for the T20 World Cup scheduled later this year.  But Samson was dropped from the Indian team that played 5 T20Is against England recently.

Did not have a great outing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy

To make things worse the wicket-keeper batsman was removed as skipper of Kerala for the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy played after the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. 

Although his removal came as a surprise to many the Kerala team management suggested that Samson was discharged of his additional responsibilities as he was expected to be included in the Indian T20I team that played against England.

Samson ultimately played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy under the captaincy of Sachin Baby as he did not make the cut for the Indian T20I team. He scored just 121 runs in 5 matches.   

 Needs to get the big knocks consistently

Samson was a part of the Indian team that featured in a 3-match T20I series against Australia last year Down Under. He wasn’t able to make a huge impact with the willow although he showed glimpses of his power hitting ability.

The right-hander might have scored just 48 runs in those matches but he scored them at an impressive strike rate of 141.17.

“Obviously I am disappointed that I could not carry on and make big scores. But I think I showed the selflessness and the intent the team demanded from me. Also I managed to dominate till I got out. In cricket even if we do everything right sometimes results may not go our way”, Samson had said while reflecting on his performance in Australia in the T20I series.

Similar story in IPL 2020

It may be recalled that the wicket-keeper batsman had made a blistering start to his IPL 2020 campaign in UAE (United Arab Emirates). But somehow he failed to get the big knocks consistently. He finished the season with a tally of 375 runs at an average of 28.54.

However his strike rate of 158.89 was the second best among batsmen who batted at least 14times in the IPL 2020. It certainly has been an area of concern for the Kerala cricketer.

Despite having all the qualities to become a world class T20I batsman Samson has not been able to cement his place in the Indian team in the shortest format. He must convert his starts to big scores on a more consistent basis.

Rajasthan Royals finished at the bottom of the points table last season

Another challenge that Samson will be facing is that the Rajasthan Royals has been struggling as a team in the past couple of seasons. It finished at the bottom of the points table in IPL 2020 and finished at second last position the year before.

 This time around the Royals management has brought in a few changes in the team. It bought the South African all-rounder Chris Morris at the mini-auction held in February for a whopping 16.25 crore rupees. Morris is the highest paid cricketer in this year’s IPL

It has also included all-rounder Shivam Dube besides the presence of world class cricketers like Ben Stokes  and Jos Butler in the line up there is no iota of doubt that newly appointed skipper Samson has a quality side at his disposal.

Somebody like Gambhir had relinquished captaincy in the IPL

   We have seen in the past how Gautam Gambhir stepped down as skipper of Delhi Daredevils now Delhi Capitals midway during IPL 2018 owning responsibility for the poor performance of the team. Dinesh Karthik  who led Kolkata Knight Riders in 2 seasons also gave up captaincy in the middle of IPL 2020.

Both Gambhir and Karthik had seen fair amount of success as IPL  skippers  In 129 matches Gambhir has a win percentage of 55.42 while Karthik boasted of a win percentage of 50  as captain. Yet the pressure of the job got the better of them and they decided to step down.

The challenges that lie ahead for newly appointed skipper Samson are not going to be any different in IPL 2021. But he must put aside worries whether he will be selected for the Indian team or not and focus on his strengths. It will undoubtedly be a huge learning curve for the youngster and his experience of playing all these years in the IPL must keep him in good stead.  

Samson found his feet as an IPL cricketer wearing the Rajasthan Royals jersey     

Samson was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for the first time in IPL 2012. But he found his feet as an IPL cricketer in the following year when he played for the Rajasthan Royals. He played for the Royals from 2013-2015. During this period he had become a vital cog in the batting line up of the team.

Later he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils ( now Delhi Capitals) for  4.2 crores during IPL 2016. The wicket-keeper batsman came into the Rajasthan Royals fold in the 2018 season. Although he has played some unbelievable knocks  since making his return to the IPL franchise  but somehow hasn’t able to come up with a stand out performance in a season.

But the Royals team management has backed him to the hilt. Kumar Sangakkara even went to the extent of calling Samson a born leader. “ Very excited. He has basically grown up in the RR family. It is really exciting for me and everyone to have him as our leader, our captain”, the Sri Lankan legend had said while interacting with fans ahead of the IPL 2021.  

With the T20 World Cup slated to be played this year there is still an outside chance for Samson to make the cut for the Indian team  as a batsman. But it will be easier said than done for the Royals skipper.