IPL 2026: Sanju Samson, the star Indian wicketkeeper-batter, could witness a massive change in his franchise ahead of the IPL 2026 season as he reportedly wants to leave his current team Rajasthan Royals.
The 30-year-old Sanju hails from Kerala and is RR’s most capped player in IPL history and also their highest run getter and most successful captain. Samson has formally requested the Royals to either trade or release him ahead of the IPL 2026 auctions.
A day after it was reported that Samson wants to part ways with Rajasthan Royals, a report in the Indian Express claimed that the Chennai Super Kings are interested in bagging the services of Samson through a trade deal. In fact, after the conclusion of IPL 2025, Samson even met with CSK management and their head coach Stephen Fleming in the United States.
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Interestingly, while the potential move could become a reality through a trade deal via cash, Rajasthan have reportedly asked for an exchange of two players from Chennai. Apart from Chennai Super Kings, three-time IPL champion Kolkata Knight Riders are also interested in signing Samson. However, joining the five-time champions CSK seems an understandable and more logical move for Samson for multiple reasons.
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Notably, Samson was associated with KKR in the past. He was part of the Gautam Gambhir-led side that won the IPL title in 2012, but he didn’t get a chance to play any match.
The chances of Samson entering the auctions are highly likely ahead of the IPL 2026 at this stage if both Rajasthan and Chennai don’t reach an agreemenT.
Having made his IPL debut way back in 2013, Samson has been one of the most consistent players in the tournament. He has played a total of 177 matches and has represented Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) during his promising career. He has 4704 runs under his belt on the back of scored three centuries and 26 fifties.
Under his captaincy, RR made it to the final in the IPL 2022 but lost it against the tournament debutants Gujarat Titans.
Samson has led RR in a total of 67 IPL matches so far and won 33. He was retained for Rs 18 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction by the Jaipur-based franchise.