New Delhi, March 19 – Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) player Faf du Plessis reflected on the impact of Sanju Samson’s departure, describing the India wicketkeeper-batsman as the face of the franchise for the last decade, and believes that RR losing Samson is ‘a major setback’ for the fans and the tournament.
Samson was traded from RR to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the auction in a major move, as the five-time champions traded Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to Rajasthan. The two sides will now face each other in their respective campaign openers on March 30 at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
"If I look at the IPL and the teams, the iconic teams we see around the league, all of them have one marquee Indian player in common, someone who has been the face of the franchise for a period of time, like Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli. And for me, Sanju Samson was that guy for Rajasthan Royals. Yes, he's from a newer generation, but he had become the face of that franchise. If I think of Rajasthan Royals, I think of Sanju Samson. So, the fact that they've lost that face, I think, is a major setback for the fans, for the IPL, and for the tournament, because he played such a significant role there,” du Plessis told JioStar.
Du Plessis also highlighted the challenge facing young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who will have to adjust to new responsibilities in the batting lineup.
"The thing about Yashasvi Jaiswal is that he had Sanju Samson, who has been such a consistent performer within that batting lineup. So, when you have that consistency from Sanju, it allows you to play your game. Now, if you take that away, people will suddenly look at him with more responsibility,” he said.
“And for a player like him, you don't want him thinking about responsibility; you want him thinking, 'I want to take the game on. I want to hit as many sixes as possible.' So there's a learning curve that's going to come into his career this season: 'Am I true to the game that I've always played, or do I take up the senior player role to score the bulk of the runs?' So it will be interesting to see how that goes. I think he'll still play in the way that he does. It would be silly not to, because he's such an attacking player,” he added.
On the inclusion of England all-rounder Curran, du Plessis noted his versatility and the leadership support he provides to a young captain, stating, "Sam Curran had a really good season in T20 cricket last year. With The Hundred, he did well, winning another trophy. He has performed really well in T20 cricket around the world. So I think they will see him as someone who is really in form at the moment. He's doing well for England and is playing a difficult role, often coming in when the team is in trouble.”
"So the versatility that you get from Sam Curran is very crucial for the team because he gives you an over in the powerplay, bowls his cutters in the middle, and is really good at death bowling, whether with yorkers or slower balls. So you're getting a lot of skill sets there. Also, he's bringing experience and captaincy support to a young captain in that dressing room. The more leaders you have around you, the better the support will be for Riyan,” he added.