Several reports suggest he would join either the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) or Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) via a trade deal.
Since last month, speculations have been high that Sanju Samson will leave Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. Reports have been consistently emerging, and a few prominent social media handles and publications claimed that he would join either the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) or Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) via a trade deal.
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However, Mumbai Mirror has provided a big development on the situation, confirming that Samson will continue with the Rajasthan Royals, contrary to the current reports. An RR source revealed that the management has not decided to trade any player as of now, and Samson remains the franchise’s ‘undisputed captain’.
“RR have decided not to trade Samson or any of their players for now. Samson is very much part of the Royals set-up and the undisputed captain of the team,” a source told Mumbai Mirror on Tuesday, August 5.
This should put reports to rest on social media platforms, given that a reliable source has updated the situation and cleared the air, as the franchise builds towards the next season. Samson never gave any indication, nor did the RR team, but several reports were enough to make everyone believe there was some truth to the potential trade move.
Sanju Samson is a quality player who will add value to any team, but the Rajasthan Royals should not let him move to a different franchise for multiple reasons. Samson is a settled option who understands the setup for being part of the team for several years and successfully leading them.
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Under Samson, RR qualified for the IPL 2022 final and reached Qualifier 2 in the 2024 season and have been among the most consistent teams. They had a mediocre IPL 2025, but Samson wasn’t fully fit and didn’t play all the games, which severely impacted the team balance and the leadership value he adds.
However, he has regained full fitness and will again be firing in the upcoming season, thanks to his supreme form in the shortest format. RR had issues finding a suitable No.3 this edition, and Samson can take that slot, given he has previous experience batting at this position, with Vaibhav Suryavanshi opening with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
This will save RR from finding a spin-hitter, and they can spend their purse on other crucial slots, like finding better all-rounders and spinners, the two biggest loopholes in their squad. Their batting unit will be pretty settled with Samson in the XI, and he will also lead the team with his effective methods, as he did in previous seasons.
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