Sanju Samson’s long association with the Rajasthan Royals has finally ended as the wicketkeeper-batter is all set to don different colours in the 2025 season of the IPL. For years a central figure in the Royals set-up, even captaining them to the IPL 2022 final, Samson has been traded to the Chennai Super Kings. This has come as part of a high-profile swap deal which will see Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran head to the Royals.
As per the confirmed trade details, Samson joins CSK for INR 18 crore, while Rajasthan have secured Jadeja for INR 14 crore and Curran for INR 2.40 crore. After the release of the retention list by the franchise, Royals co-owner Manoj Badale spoke about what prompted Samson to seek this new challenge.
Samson had a miserable IPL 2025 season, in which he missed a few games due to injury, and Riyan Parag had to take over as stand-in captain. There were rumors throughout the season of a rift between Samson and head coach Rahul Dravid, which Dravid denied. Ironically, though, both Dravid and Samson will depart from the Royals heading into next season.
Badale said Samson was emotionally drained in the 2025 season, while the Kerala cricketer himself spoke to Badale in Kolkata about his desire to leave the franchise. When Dravid left the franchise midway through the year, there were reports suggesting that something was amiss in the camp; Badale maintained, though, that it has always stuck to its core processes and culture.
“The first time this year or in the past year that Sanju talked about moving on was probably in Kolkata towards the end of the season. We had a meeting after the game. He’s a very honest guy, and he was personally, emotionally drained. He cares a huge amount about RR, and I think having our worst season in 18 years took a lot out of him,” said Badale in a video posted on the official handle of Rajasthan Royals.
“I think he just felt that, having given the best part of 14 years with a break to RR, he wanted just a new chapter to refresh the end of his journey with the IPL. In the case of Sanju, when he made the request, I think it felt different for us. A, because he’s a very authentic man and if he says something, he generally means it. He’s been an extraordinary servant of the franchise for 14 years. It’s not just the batting that the fans see or the sixes that the fans see; it’s everything else he’s put into it,” he added.
Samson moves out of the franchise after an exceptional 11-season spell in which he has scored 4,027 runs. His best season for the Royals came in 2024 when he hammered 531 runs, an indication that he is still one of the most valuable top-order batters in the tournament.
