The much-awaited CSK-RR trade is now completed and Ravindra Jadeja has been traded to Rajasthan Royals while Sanju Samson will now be a part of Chennai Super Kings, according to Cricbuzz. The Royals seem to have come out as the outright winners of what could be remembered as the most dramatic trade ever in the history of IPL. CSK parted ways with Ravindra Jadeja, whose INR 18 crore worth is the same as Sanju Samson’s valuation, and also traded in Sam Curran, costing INR 2.4 crore, to seal the deal. Jadeja stands tall above Samson in performance, influence, and stature as arguably the best all-rounder in Indian and world cricket.
One IPL CEO didn’t mince words, calling i “It’s quite shocking that a franchise player who has been a star performer for CSK has been let go so easily. With MS Dhoni on the verge of retirement, who is the face of CSK? After MS, it was always Jadeja. Once MS is done, does the team have a representative face?”
The trade had stalled initially as Cricbuzz reported on November 11 since RR did not have an available overseas slot, but the issue has been ironed out by the BCCI now. A formal announcement is expected on Saturday – November 15.
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Jadeja, picked by CSK in the 2012 auction via a secret bid for what was then a record price, had always delivered for the franchise. His legacy includes the unforgettable 2023 final, where he sealed victory with a six and a four off the last two deliveries. The hug he shared with Dhoni thereafter became one of the iconic images of the IPL—symbols of “Thala” and “Thalapathy,” a pairing many thought inseparable. Yet, the split has happened.
Sources close to the developments said Dhoni and Jadeja had spoken before the trading process began, with both feeling the move would serve everyone’s long-term interest. The 36-year-old Jadeja has already announced his retirement from T20Is and is unlikely to feature again in India’s ODI plans.
With Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad already in the squad, there were discussions internally about whether Jadeja might find himself out of the playing XI – an outcome he would not have been pleased with. There’s also the opinion that Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium no longer provides the conditions that are so conducive to his style of spin. Although he had a fractious spell with CSK in 2022 during his brief stint as captain, this break-up has been wholly amicable. Across his time with them, Jadeja played 185 matches for CSK, scoring 2000 runs and taking more than 140 wickets at the outstanding economy rate of less than eight. He also played for them in 14 CLT20 games.
Ironically, he returns to the same franchise, which banned him for a year in 2010 for engaging in unauthorised negotiations. Jadeja had played his first two IPL seasons with the Royals before that suspension. Even if it remains to be seen if RR will hand him the captaincy, he is expected to be accorded the respect of a senior statesman-something that belonged naturally to Dhoni at CSK.
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What CSK gain by parting with their second-most loved figure is not particularly clear. What is known, though, is that the franchise has been keen on Samson for almost three years now, as the ideal Indian wicketkeeper who could also bolster the top order. That search is finally complete with Samson, an established India T20I opener. Across the IPL ecosystem, Samson is a respected player, and a few teams had sought him out before CSK sealed the deal. But at Chepauk, his scores read: 29 (2015), 8 (2019), 0 (2023), 15 (2024), and 10 (2024), aggregating 59 runs in five games at 11.8 with a strike rate of 100.
