IPL 2025: Sanju Samson retires hurt after breezy knock against Delhi Capitals

Sanju Samson walking out (Source: JioHotstar)

retired hurt after seemingly hurting the left side around his rib cage during Match 32 of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday, April 16. The decision from his end came after the third delivery of the sixth over of the run-chase was bowled.

The third delivery of Vipraj Nigam's first over turned out to be a no-ball. Samson, in a bid to slash the quicker ball, seemed to have hurt himself. The physio had come out to the middle to attend to RR's skipper. Play resumed after a lengthy break in which Samson was seen stretching his left arm and gobbling a tablet.

The free-hit delivery was full and outside off. The ball was drilled towards long-off. To everyone's surprise, no run was taken off the ball. He seemed to be in considerable pain after hitting the shot and started his walk back to the pavilion, all while grimacing in pain. Riyan Parag replaced him. Notably, this was the second instance of a captain retiring hurt in the IPL. The first one was Krunal Pandya against Mumbai Indians in 2023.

Earlier in the evening, Samson won the toss and put in to bat first. The hosts ended up posting 188/5 at the end of their 20-over quota. Abishek Porel top-scored with 49 to his name. Tristan Stubbs ended the innings unbeaten on 34 off 18 deliveries. Axar Patel's 14-ball 34 came in quite handy in injecting momentum into DC's innings. As for RR, Jofra Archer secured a two-wicket haul. Barring his final over, Sandeep Sharma was quite economical too. Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga took a wicket apiece.