Why is Riyan Parag not captaining in today's PBKS vs RR IPL 2025 match?

After leading Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their first three matches of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Riyan Parag did not walk out for the toss in their match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on Saturday, April 5. Instead, regular captain Sanju Samson, who was the given the clearance by BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) to keep wickets, strode out to the middle along with PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer.

Parag led RR in the first three matches of the season and the franchise lost two of those matches. After losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their season opener and to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their second match, Parag captained RR to a win in their third match of IPL 2025 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Guwahati on Sunday, March 30.

Ahead of the CSK fixture, RR head coach Rahul Dravid had praised Parag for the way he had led the franchise in Samson's absence. He said that the 23-year-old "adapted really well" and leading RR had given him "exposure and experience."

"I think he's adapted really well. As a captain, it's nice for him to get this opportunity till Sanju is able to field again. And he's sharing his thoughts and his ideas. Very clear. He's very solid in that sense."

"Of course, it's unfortunate that Sanju [Samson] was not able to captain and play for us. But I think in a way it's nice that we were able to give Riyan, our vice-captain, a chance to captain in a few games and give him that exposure and experience as well," Dravid said. [Via ESPN Cricinfo].

RR look for second win as Sanju Samson returns to lead

After starting IPL 2025 with two losses, RR registered their first win of the tournament when they beat CSK by six runs in Guwahati. They will look to win their second match in a row when they face PBKS in Mullanpur on Saturday.

Samson was used as an impact sub by RR in all three matches, with Dhruv Jurel keeping wickets for the franchise. The right-handed batter opened the batting in each of the three matches, making scores of 20, 13 and 66.

PBKS have made a strong start to IPL 2025, winning their opening two matches of IPL 2025 against Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants.