Samson is irreplaceable like Kohli and Sharma, says Parag
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Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag believes Sanju Samson is "irreplaceable" as they prepare for their first Indian Premier League campaign without him since 2017.
Samson was traded to Chennai Super Kings for the 2026 season, a move which came as a surprise to many.
The wicketkeeper-batter made his IPL debut in 2013 for the Royals and has featured for them in all but two editions, representing the Delhi Capitals in 2016 and 2017.
He has scored 4,704 runs in the competition at an average of 30.9, while he has three centuries and 26 scores of 50+ to his name.
Samson featured just nine times last season after starting the tournament with an injury, though he recently starred for India at the T20 World Cup.
Indeed, he recorded scores of 80+ in each of their last three matches as India became the first team to retain their T20 World Cup title and win the competition on home soil.
"We can only try to look for players with the same skills [like Samson] and someone who can fill the hole left by him in the batting order," Parag said.
"Just like you cannot replace Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma in any XI, Samson is irreplaceable.
"But will we plan something new? That's what we've been discussing in the build-up. If you see last season, we lost five or six close games, in fact a couple of games were last-ball defeats.
"This season, if those few games go in our favour, then we won't be asked about our issues any longer."
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 19, 2026
Parag also insisted that he will do all he can to protect Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as he looks to make more history.
Sooryavanshi, who turns 15 just ahead of the 2026 edition, became the youngest ever centurion in men's T20 cricket when he smashed 101 off 38 balls for the Royals against Gujarat Titans in Jaipur in IPL 2025.
"As a captain, I will tell him not to do many press conferences, not interact with the media much, just enjoy," Parag added.
"This year, there will be hype and pressure naturally, but as a captain, I will tell him to let Yashasvi Jaiswal take the pressure.
"Jaiswal is more than capable to handle that. For Vaibhav, the role will be just to go, hit, and not to worry."
