Making his full-time captaincy debut for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Riyan Parag came up against his predecessor, Sanju Samson, in the match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Monday. Parag, who has played alongside Samson for years and even bowled to him in the nets at times, knew he had to do something special before the wicket-keeper batter got into his groove. The Royals managed to dismiss Samson for just 6 runs off 7 balls, all thanks to the inch-perfect plan that Parag had created.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Parag revealed that the first few deliveries that Samson faced gave him and his teammates the confidence to go ahead with the plan. Though Samson also hit a boundary during his stay, the RR skipper revealed that getting him to play that shot was also a part of the plan.
“I feel for Sanju bhai, it was the first three balls or first four balls that we wanted to execute something. That kind of went well, so we went ahead with it. And we were just trying to target where he plays his first three balls or where he plays his first four to five balls and then just set fielders accordingly and ask him to hit a better shot or hit a different shot, which is, again, a gamble sort of, but then that gives us a lot of percentage of favours in our way,” he told media after the game.
Nandre Burger removed Sanju Samson.
Jofra Archer cleans up Ruturaj Gaikwad. pic.twitter.com/mhV5D0yqXH
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 30, 2026
Samson was dismissed while trying to change gears. Parag revealed that getting him to play the shot, on which he got dismissed, was pre-planned.
“Let’s say the shot he got out to, we would have wanted him to hit that shot instead of bowling short to him and him pulling it because he likes that. So we just try and make decisions a little uncomfortable for the bowlers, for the batsmen, sorry, and then we just try and execute.
“If it comes off, looks very good. If it doesn’t come off and he gets hit for a few cuts, I’ll be sitting here sitting like a dumb duck, right? So that’s about it,” he revealed.