Yuzvendra Chahal has ranked Sanju Samson as the best captain that he has played under so far in the Indian Premier League. The spinner was a part of Rajasthan Royals between 2022 to 2024 and enjoyed tremendous success during his stint with the team. Chahal, who currently plays for Punjab Kings under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy, has revealed why he rates Samson as the best captain he’s played under.
Sanju Samson is Chahal’s favourite captain
Speaking to Mashable India, Chahal dubbed Samson as an amazing captain, and revealed that he was the first skipper to use a spinner in the death overs. He credited Sanju for making him a death over bowler and claimed that the Kerala keeper-batter would never disturb a bowler and would allow the player to function comfortably.
“Sanju Samson is amazing. Under him I became a better bowler. Till then no captains used to bowl spinners in the death. Sanju made me a death over bowler and I had the most wickets in the death overs. He won’t disturb you and allow you to bowl as you like,” Chahal said.
| Tournament | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
|---|---|---|---|
| IPL 2025 | 14 | 16 | 26.87 |
| IPL 2024 | 15 | 18 | 30.33 |
| IPL 2023 | 14 | 21 | 20.57 |
| IPL 2022 | 17 | 27 | 19.51 |
| IPL 2021 | 15 | 18 | 20.77 |
| IPL 2020/21 | 15 | 21 | 19.28 |
| IPL 2019 | 14 | 18 | 21.44 |
| IPL 2018 | 14 | 12 | 30.25 |
| IPL 2017 | 13 | 14 | 23.78 |
| IPL 2016 | 13 | 21 | 19.09 |
| IPL 2015 | 15 | 23 | 18.04 |
| IPL 2014 | 14 | 12 | 32.16 |
| IPL 2013 | 1 | 0 | – |
In the three years that he was a part of RR, Chahal picked 27, 21 and 18 wickets, proving to be one of the team’s deadliest bowlers. However, he was released by the team ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction and was bagged by PBKS for a whooping Rs 18 crore.
Cricket
Exclusive | 'Wasn't expecting that call' – Devdutt Padikkal on last-minute IND vs NZ selection after Rishabh Pant injury
