RR skipper Sanju Samson has backed Yashasvi Jaiswal to perform well after a rocky start to his IPL 2025 campaign. Jaiswal has been short of runs at the top but Samson said that the southpaw is doing everything right and expects him to step up soon.
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00:00To be honest, not much. I think as we all know, I think we keep moving on with this
00:05IPL rule of three-year cycle. I think definitely we had one of the greatest players playing
00:10for us for the last cycle but we had to move on from there and now also we have a really
00:14good batting line-up. I think if you see our last three games, we did concede around 280
00:21in the first game but we also ended up scoring 250 also. So we had a good batting line-up
00:26and also the game against Chennai, our batters did really well. So I think we are well balanced.
00:31I think it's a bit too early in the tournament to see where we are. Definitely we will have
00:36our strengths and weaknesses but we are just feeling that we are rightly balanced.
00:56To be very honest, I think I was a bit surprised. I was like, no, it will happen. I have to
01:06bat three times and then in one game I can come in and I can play. But missing out of
01:11three games, I was just holding myself back and seeing the games from a different perspective.
01:17So it was a bit different, learning a different experience for me to sit at the dugout and
01:22see my friends, my young brothers playing out there, fighting out there. So to be honest,
01:28I am very happy and excited to be back and to be fully fit to keep wickets, to play as
01:33a normal player. I think I have been really looking forward to it and it feels very exciting.
01:52Before the tournament, you were playing at No. 3 in IPL. Right now, you are playing as
01:57an opener and as a wicket-keeper. How difficult is it for you to shift into that opening role?
02:03Earlier, you were also playing international matches as an opener. But in franchise, you
02:08have different roles, different tactics. How are you making it possible and how are you
02:13helping the team?
02:14It's something definitely very new to me. I think captaining a side, opening, batting
02:20and keeping wickets is definitely challenging. So I am very much looking forward to it. I
02:24think every IPL season brings something new to my career, to my challenge. So I have accepted
02:30it and I am learning from it and very excitingly looking forward, like how can I contribute
02:35in all these three departments.
02:39Sanju, this is the first match here this season and both teams are coming here from away games.
02:46So do you think that negates a bit of home advantage and a visiting team gets a bit more
02:51edge when both teams are coming out of away games and especially in a new season?
02:58Yeah, definitely the home games play a huge role in the conditions we all know which can
03:06be favourable if the toss goes your way. I think definitely conditions you know, but
03:10the toss plays a huge role. But the morale and the energy of the stadium definitely helps
03:16the home team. So yeah, I think Punjab is coming back to their home after a long time
03:21and they will be also having all their fans supporting them. So I think we really enjoy
03:26that challenge and looking forward to it.
03:31Apart of this IPL competition, another competition is going on between the creators and the captains.
03:37Ane is complaining about the fault of the pitch as well. He has also said about the
03:43Gohati pitch. Do you think there is something on the pitch between the creators and the
03:48team?
03:50Yeah, to be very honest, before the IPL, like one month of IPL, I have cut out all my social
03:57media, I have switched off my phone. So I am not aware of things happening in the newspaper
04:02or in the media. To be very honest, I think I personally don't have any comments on that.
04:08I think definitely both teams get to play on the same wicket, both teams get to play
04:13on the same conditions. I think it's a game of cricket, sometimes you score 280, sometimes
04:19you score 150. We just have to play smarter and score one run more from the opponent.
04:24So I think that's how I would like to look at this. So as of now, I don't have any complaints.
04:32Yashasthi hasn't looked as clean as he was in the previous season. Is there anything
04:37that he has been addressing in the coaching sessions?
04:42Yeah, he has been working really hard. I think he has been attending all the practice sessions.
04:46He does tick each and every boxes which he has been ticking from last six years. You
04:50could see he is the most number of hours he only takes in the nets. We had to wait for
04:56many hours for him to get out from the nets. So he is doing everything possible from his
05:00side to score those runs, to win those matches. As we all know IPL is a very challenging format
05:07and as an opener his game is also attacking. He wants to give us a very positive start.
05:12He is looking for those boundaries, he is looking for those sixes and in that process
05:16you tend to lose the wickets also. So I think I would like to see him definitely perform
05:22and come up the ranks at the right moment when the team requires him the most. So I
05:26think I am happy that he is yet to perform but I know when he performs he will be winning
05:30the games for us as a team. So he is doing everything fine I think.
05:34Last question.
06:05How do you see this?
06:08How do you see this? I didn't understand.
06:11So you are saying the teams like Chennai Type 1 winning 5 or 6 games at their own ground.
06:17So that they can step away and build their team according to that. How do you see it happening?
06:28That's how I think in this format there is a very rare chance of getting an upper hand.
06:33So I think any small advantages you want to have as a home team, definitely you will try
06:38to do it strategically and we are also trying our best to do it. So every team does it and
06:43we are also trying to do it in our own way.
06:46Last question.
06:49You mentioned before the season that if you are able to change the rule, you change the
06:55player can't be lead the team. I am talking about Jones but he performed really well for
07:01the good luck. So do you miss him as a player, as a companion, as a support in the ground?
07:10Yeah, absolutely. We all miss him. It's a very very hard moment for myself and the whole
07:15franchise to let him go actually. So I think these funny things keep happening in this
07:19IPL. So we took a long long time to say goodbye to Joss bhai and we are a bit, definitely
07:25are. I think to be honest it would have been great to have him with us but that's how IPL
07:29is. That's how mature I need to become as a captain, as a leader. I need to keep moving
07:34on from what's happening and what can be in our control. Ideally.
07:42Thank you so much.