Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) are most likely to close a trade deal as Ravindra Jadeja will be joining RR and Sanju Samson will be a part of CSK in the upcoming IPL 2026 season. But now the biggest question that has arisen is – who’ll be leading CSK and RR? According to a report by News18 CricketNext, Ravindra Jadeja has made a special request to the Rajasthan Royals management that if he joins then he wants to lead the team.
But in Chennai Super Kings, the report indicates that Sanju Samson will not be appointed as the captain immediately. The Chennai Super Kings is closely tied to MS Dhoni, who will most likely to play IPL 2026. For now, Ruturaj Gaikwad will continue to lead the franchise and Samson might be viewed as a potential long-term successor.
Ruturaj Gaikwad became the captain of CSK in March 2024 he took over the team after MS Dhoni but in 2025 he was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury, due to which Dhoni again had to lead the franchise.
The trade between CSK and RR also includes Sam Curran who will also join Rajasthan and insiders claim that the high-profile deal is nearly finalised. But there is one issue that is causing delay in the deal, according to Cricbuzz, there is a delay in Ravindra Jadeja and Sanju Samson swap because the quota of overseas players is full in Rajasthan Royals. This means that Sam Curran cannot be added in the squad because the spots are already full and it Royals want to add Curran then the franchise needs to release one of the existing foreign players.
