IPL Auction 2022: Sanju Samson has said that getting retained by his franchise was a pretty natural outcome

Sanju Samson, the captain of the Rajasthan Royals, has stated that his team’s retention was a foregone conclusion. This is because his management sees him as a long-term candidate for a leadership position.

The Royals published their retention list on Tuesday, ahead of the forthcoming IPL super auction in 2022. The first IPL champions chose Samson (Rs 14 crore) as the first player on the retention list, as expected.

Since his IPL debut a decade ago, Samson has been a part of the Royals. The swashbuckler from Kerala is now looking forward to guiding the team in the coming seasons.

“It’s a really great moment for me. The trust shown by the franchise and the coaches and the supporting staff trusting in me to do this role. I think, definitely, I am a very young captain and very much excited to experience a lot of things and learn and become better as a cricketer as well as a leader of an IPL team,” he added.

Earlier this year, Samson was named the Royals’ captain ahead of the 14th IPL season. While the team struggled, the wicketkeeper-batter performed admirably with the bat. He batted 484 times in 14 games, averaging 40.33 runs per game.

Rajasthan Royals

“It was a pretty natural decision actually. So I’ve been a part of RR since the day I started playing my first IPL game, so definitely it was something expected,” said Samson

“From the moment I was made the leader, it was very clear from the franchise. That they were looking at me leading the team for a longer period. So, the words were exchanged much before this retention and whatever process we went through,” he added.

When Samson was given the leadership role last season. The franchise made it obvious to him that he was being groomed as a long-term leader.

“From the moment I was made the leader, it was very clear from the franchise. That they were looking at me leading the team for a longer period. So, the words were exchanged much before this retention and whatever process we went through,” he added.

Samson will now look to assemble a strong team in the super auction and lead the Royals to their second IPL championship.

Apart from Samson, Rajasthan kept white-ball champion Jos Buttler as a wicketkeeper-batsman (Rs 10 crore). Buttler has been the lynchpin of the Royals’ batting combination for the previous four IPL seasons, alongside Samson.

Read more: India vs New Zealand: Danish Kaneria says “Rahane must be aware that this could be his last Test”

Visit also: Zaheer Khan feels there is a bit more pressure on Pujara than Rahane ahead of the second Test against NZ in Mumbai

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