'When I became captain, he was my...' - Sanju Samson expresses regrets on RR releasing star cricketer for IPL 2025

The Rajasthan Royals (RR), under the captaincy of star wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, are set to be in action in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2025. The inaugural champions of the tournament will start the IPL 2025 journey with their campaign opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday, March 23. 

Meanwhile, skipper Sanju Samson recently spoke about one of the decisions the RR management took last year before the IPL 2025 mega-auction. It was one of the major decisions taken by RR management that changed the look of their squad for the upcoming IPL 2025. 

“We played together for seven years” – Sanju Samson

Samson expressed his regret on the decision to let the veteran batter Jos Buttler go, as the franchise management decided to release him before the IPL 2025 mega-auction last year.

“Jos Buttler is one of my closest friends. We played together for seven years, forming a long batting partnership. We knew each other so well and always kept in touch. He was like an elder brother to me. When I became captain, he was my vice-captain and played a huge role in helping me lead the team. Letting him go has been one of the most challenging things for me,” said Samson on JioHotstar in the SuperStar series.

“Even during the England series, I told him over dinner that I was still not over it. If I could change one thing in the IPL, I would change the rule of releasing players. While it has its positives, on a personal level, you lose connections and relationships built over years,” he added later while recalling one of his post-dinner conversations with former England skipper earlier this year in India.

Notably, Buttler has a decorated IPL career of nine editions, from IPL 2016 to IPL 2024. After playing for MI in the first two years of his IPL career, Buttler played for the Rajasthan Royals in seven editions. In his illustrious IPL career so far, the veteran Englishman has scored 3582 runs in 106 innings, including 12 unbeaten appearances and an average of 38.10. He has also smashed seven centuries and 19 half-centuries with the bat to his name in his IPL career.