How Rajasthan Royals misplayed IPL ‘impact sub’ and why it is linked to their captaincy

The 'impact sub' is like a cheat code in the Indian Premier League that helps a franchise to turn a game on its head. Two of the six matches from the start of IPL 2025 saw impact subs emerge into match winners; Ask Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings.

Two other franchises — Mumbai Indians against Chennai Super Kings, and Rajasthan Royals — in their opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad, almost reaped the full benefit of the 12th man. Kerala spinner Vignesh Puthur was MI's impact sub.

But the Royals' missed a trick with the rule in their second match against Kolkata Knight Riders. Not only did the Royals mistime the deployment of their 'impact sub', the situation that forced them into doing so had exposed a chink in their armour. That weakness is indirectly connected to their temporary issue with captaincy.

Ahead of the season opener, the —Royals announced that all-rounder Riyan Parag will lead them in the first three matches, with club captain Sanju Samson playing as an 'impact sub'.

That was to allow Sanju to regain fitness to restart wicketkeeping, having only recently recovered from surgery on a fractured right index finger. Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel has ably covered for the skipper behind the stumps.

Sanju being the impact sub almost worked like a charm in the match against SRH. The Kerala star came on for Fazalhaq Farooqi, who went for 0/49 in 3 overs. He scored a 37-ball 66 that gave the Royals a real chance, even in an improbable chase of 287.

What happened in RR vs KKR?
In the SRH match, it made perfect sense to have Sanju as the impact sub because RR bowled first. Bringing in the designated batter for a bowler in a chase was the right move.

But in Guwahati, KKR won the toss and chose to bowl. The strategy was still on: let Sanju do his thing and give way for a bowler in the second innings. They had pacer Akash Madhwal and left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya among the subs, and depending on the situation, either of them could have replaced Sanju in the second inning.

The plan was straightforward, but they had, arguably, messed up with the starting XI. Shubham Dubey, who scored a vital 11-ball 34 not out that took the Royals to 242/6 against SRH, had no place in the XI. In his place, they played all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga. But having Hasaranga, not as impactful with the bat as Dubey, made the Royals' batting even thinner as they batted first.

What could go wrong?
Sanju couldn't replicate his form from the opener and was castled by Vaibhav Arora for 13.  

No pressure, let's stick with plan A.

But wickets kept falling; the dismissals of Yashasvi Jaiswal (29) and Riyan Parag (25) left the Royals shaking at 69/3. Then, to the surprise of many, Hasaranga was promoted, ahead of Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer. But the Lankan was back in the dugout after adding just four runs, and Nitish Rana (8) followed suit. At 82/5 in 11 overs, the Royals went for plan B. They pressed the panic button and rolled in the impact sub: Batter - Dubey.

Many experts were puzzled by that move. Couldn't they have first tried Hetmyer, and if he failed, then brought in Dubey? Why the rush? Nevertheless, Dubey added 9, and Hetmyer could contribute only 7, coming in at 7.

After all that, the Royals could only post 151/9, the lowest total of the season yet. In the end, it turned out to be insufficient because Quinton de Kock played a blinder, an unbeaten 97, to win it for KKR. But the fact is, RR could have used an extra spinner on that surface that was exploited by Moeen Ali (2/23) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/17), and they had the perfect candidate in Kartikeya.

Sanju’s role as ‘impact sub’ will continue for one more match, and next up is Chennai Super Kings. The Royals would want to get their starting XI right, but first, they hope Parag wins the toss.