Sanju says he's doing a good job as Rajasthan captain; coach Dravid dismisses report of rift

Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid dismissed reports of a rift with his captain, Sanju Samson, following a string of defeats in the ongoing IPL season. Dravid said he and Sanju were on the same page despite the results.

"Sanju is very much an integral part of all the decision-making and I have a really good rapport with him. He is involved in each and every discussion that we make," Dravid said at a media interaction ahead of the Royals' home match against Lucknow Super Giants.

But the former India head coach realises they have to face up to the criticism as the Royals have lost three matches in a row. "Obviously, when you lose games and things don't go right sometimes, you face the criticism of not performing well or not doing well," Dravid said.

The Royals are likely to be without Sanju for the Lucknow match as he is recovering from an injury. Dravid said Sanju underwent scans after experiencing "a bit of pain in the abdominal area".

"Once we get a bit more clarity around the scans and the severity of (the injury), we'll take a decision going forward, and we'll see what happens," Dravid said.

Sanju, on his captaincy
Meanwhile, Sanju believes he has matured as a captain, having led the franchise for four seasons in the IPL. "The more you do one role or skill, it keeps getting better," Sanju said in an IPL special show on Star Sports.

"This is my fifth year captaining Rajasthan Royals, and I feel with time and with a lot of mistakes and a lot of learnings, with a lot of great brave calls, I think I have reached a state where I feel that I'm doing a good job as a captain of the side. I can feel the improvement; I can feel the maturity that has come in."