Jos Buttler heaps praise on RR skipper Sanju Samson, says 'enjoyed playing under him'

Rajasthan Royals (RR) England batsman Jos Buttler has heaped praise on skipper Sanju Samson, saying "he really enjoyed playing under his captaincy". Buttler, during a virtual session arranged by the Royals, called Samson a "free-spirited" person, who grew as captain as the tournament progressed. The English opener said it is very important for a leader to be authentic and according to him Sanju Samson is genuine. Buttler also said that captaining RR in IPL 2021 was probably a "great learning" experience" for Samson. 

"It was a great learning experience for him. And I think, as the tournament was going along, at the halfway stage, he was really growing into the role, looking to put together some better, more consistent performances towards the end of the season as a side. I've really enjoyed playing under Sanju's captaincy. I don't think it changed him at all as a person. He's quite a free-spirited, very relaxed kind of guy and he tried to get that across to the team and that's how he wanted us to play as a side." "It is really important as a leader to be authentic, and I think Sanju is very much that," Buttler said. 

Rajasthan Royals won three out of the seven games that the franchise played this year before the postponement of the cash-rich tournament. Samson took over as RR's captain skipper after former skipper Steve Smith was let go by the team because of the side's poor performances in the last couple of years. Samson became the first player to score a century in his IPL debut game as captain. Samson smashed 119 runs for his side in the first game of IPL 2021 against the Punjab Kings. 

RR in IPL 2021

Rajasthan Royals lost most of its key foreign recruits early on in the tournament, owing to injuries. Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, who have been the most valuable players for RR over the years, missed out on IPL 2021 due to injuries. While Archer was injured prior to the commencement of the league, Stokes broke his finger while playing the first game of the season. A few players withdrew mid-season due to COVID-19 concerns in India. Despite the setbacks, RR finished the first half of the tournament with 6 points to its name, finishing at number five in the table. 

(Image Credit: PTI)