Rift in RR camp? Sanju Samson ignores Rahul Dravid, team meeting in dugout; video goes viral

The video shows Rajasthan Royals' head coach Rahul Dravid addressing the team before the Super Over began. Sanju Samson is noticeably absent from the discussion when urged to join by a teammate.

Chankesh Rao

Updated : Apr 18, 2025, 05:17 PM IST

Rift in RR camp? Sanju Samson ignores Rahul Dravid, team meeting in dugout; video goes viral

Sanju Samson, the captain of the Rajasthan Royals, is making headlines. The talented wicketkeeper-batter had to retire hurt after a brisk 31 runs off just 19 balls during an IPL 2025 match against the Delhi Capitals on Wednesday. The game ended in a nail-biting Super Over, with Delhi Capitals clinching the win after both teams finished tied at 188 runs after the regular 20 overs. In the Super Over, the Royals opted to leave out the in-form Nitish Rana, who had scored 51 off 28 balls, and instead sent in Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, and Riyan Parag.

Now, a video that's been making the rounds on social media shows the senior management of the RR team, including head coach Rahul Dravid and Sairaj Bahutule, gathered in a huddle just before the Super Over. In the footage, you can spot Samson, but he seems to be lost in his own thoughts and doesn't engage with anyone. While it could just be a sign of the pressure he was feeling, many social media users are speculating about a possible rift within the team. In the huddle, one player appears to say something to Samson, but he simply walks away.

I knew there was definitely a rift within the setup when there were absolutely no discussions or chat in the dugout before the super over.Everyone was standing quite in a circle in the dugout.Look at Sanju's hand signal in the first video,he is deliberately ignoring everyone. https://t.co/DfxmlwGgBG pic.twitter.com/688ji3MXrS
— Delhi Capitals Fan (@pantiyerfc) April 17, 2025

It was expected that Nitish Rana would be one of the batting choices for Rajasthan Royals in the first Super Over of IPL 2025 against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday night. However, to everyone's surprise, despite scoring a fluent 51 off 28 balls, Rana was not sent in. Instead, RR opted for Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, and then Yashasvi Jaiswal in the one-over decider. This decision did not pay off as RR only managed to score 11 runs off five balls, with run-outs on the last two balls.

Following the dramatic game, Rana mentioned that all on-field decision-making calls are made by the team management. He stated, "This is never the decision of one person. It's always the management and the support staff who discuss and make decisions on these matters. I believe that if the result had been in our favor, the question would have been different. Cricket is a result-oriented game."

"Management is the one who decides. There are two senior players and the captain. I think, that decision was right. If Hetmyer had hit two sixes, you wouldn't have asked the same question.

"Hetmyer is our finisher. Everyone knows this, and he has delivered in the past. There are a lot of things that we could have squeezed a little more, and the tied game from that one run shouldn't have happened. But this is the result," said Rana in the post-match press conference.

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