Riyan Parag’s captaincy debut at his home ground in Guwahati turned disappointing as Rajasthan Royals suffered their second consecutive loss in IPL 2025. Kolkata Knight Riders secured an eight-wicket victory at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium.
Parag made history as Assam’s first male cricketer to represent India and lead an IPL team when he captained against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 23. He joined the elite list of RR captains including Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Rahul Dravid, Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, and Sanju Samson.
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The temporary leadership role came to Parag due to regular captain Samson’s finger injury, which prevents him from fielding and wicketkeeping. Samson, now 30, has participated in both matches as an Impact Player during batting.
The young captain holds an unwanted record of being the first in the Rajasthan Royals’ history to lose their opening two matches. The first defeat came against SRH by 44 runs, where RR conceded 286 runs, the second-highest total in IPL history.
Parag will continue to lead RR once more, at least, against Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati on March 30. Samson is expected to resume captaincy for the match against Punjab Kings on April 5 at Mullanpur’s Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium.
Meanwhile, Sanju Samson shares the record for most wins as RR captain with Shane Warne, both securing 31 victories. He became only the second captain after Warne to guide RR to an IPL final in 2022. Under Warne’s leadership, the team won their only IPL title in the inaugural 2008 season.
Rajasthan Royals captains after two IPL matches
Shane Warne: 1 win, 1 loss
Shane Watson: 1 win, 1 loss
Rahul Dravid: 2 wins, 0 losses
Steve Smith: 2 wins, 0 losses
Ajinkya Rahane: 1 win, 1 loss
Sanju Samson: 1 win, 1 loss
Riyan Parag: 0 wins, 2 losses
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