RR, CSK finished in the last two spots of IPL 2025 points table.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 player retention deadline is on Saturday (November 15). The IPL 2026 trade deal involving Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) could come with added responsibility for the veteran cricketer. The high-profile deal of Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, and Sanju Samson is currently stalled, with RR needing to release one of their overseas players to accommodate Sam Curran.
According to News18 CricketNext report, Jadeja has requested the RR management for captaincy as part of their trade deal, with Royals’ regular skipper Sanju Samson set to move in the opposite direction.
“The 37-year-old all-rounder wants to spend his last few years in his first IPL franchise – RR, taking on extra responsibilities as captain. RR already have plenty of options like Riyan Parag, who led the side last season in Samson’s absence, as well as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel. However, the franchise may prefer a fresh face in Jadeja to strike the perfect balance within the squad,” the report stated.
Meanwhile, the report added that Sanju Samson is unlikely to take over the captaincy reins at CSK immediately.
“The franchise is synonymous with MS Dhoni, whose future as a player beyond 2025 remains unclear, and Samson is his clear heir. However, they don’t plan to take away the job from Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was ruled out of the IPL 2025 midway due to elbow injury.”
Sources indicate that the high-profile trade, which also involves all-rounder Sam Curran moving to RR, has been mutually agreed upon by both franchises and is expected to be finalised in the next few days, barring any last-minute hiccups.
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If completed, the move would mark a full-circle moment for Jadeja, who began his IPL journey with the Rajasthan Royals and represented them in the first two seasons. Notably, he was also part of the Royals’s inaugural title-winning squad in 2008. His leadership, experience, finishing ability, and versatility could provide RR with much-needed balance, particularly after struggling to find final flourishes.
He was later suspended in IPL 2010 for trying to negotiate independently with the Mumbai Indians (MI) before joining Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 2011, and eventually moving to the CSK in 2012.
This would not be Jadeja’s first stint as an IPL captain. In 2022, Dhoni handed over the Captaincy to Jadeja before the start of the season, but the move didn’t go as expected, with the franchise losing six of the first eight matches. His personal form dipped, and before long, he stepped down again from the captaincy, with Dhoni taking over again.
During his 14-year stint with Chennai, Jadeja became one of the legends of the tournament, picking up 143 wickets and piling up 2,198 runs in 186 matches. He played an instrumental role in CSK’s title wins in 2018, 2021, and 2023.
Meanwhile, CSK already have several key issues to address after hitting rock bottom in IPL 2025, finishing last on the points table with just four wins. The Sanju-Jadeja & Curran trade is seen as one of their attempts to rebuild their squad and plug all the gaps exposed last season, but Jadeja’s departure will further make a huge hole in their lower-order batting.
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