This trade deal can benefit both Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings.
The rumoured trade of Sanju Samson has again been in the news, with a former analyst who worked with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) revealing some big news. Prasanna, who has also worked with South Africa, made a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account to give a big update on this trade rumour.
According to him, an Indian off-spinner and an LHB middle-order batter are set to be traded for a wicketkeeper batter ahead of the next season. While he didn’t reveal any names, this clearly indicates he is talking about Ravichandran Ashwin and Shivam Dube, who will move to the Rajasthan Royals (RR), and Sanju Samson will join the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
While we can’t trust Prasanna completely, he is closely associated with Ashwin and often comes on his YouTube channel as a guest. That means RR are giving an INR 18 crore player and getting two worth INR 21.75 crores, and will pay the additional INR 3.75 crores to CSK.
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There’s no confirmation on this, but a few reports claimed Samson is willing to leave RR and join a big franchise, despite performing reasonably well as a batter and captain at the Royals. At CSK, Samson might get captaincy since Ruturaj Gaikwad didn’t have a great time leading the franchise in one and a half seasons.
Sanju Samson has been a quality player who understands IPL dynamics, while Ashwin and Dube have also been around for a long time, especially the former. The team structure suggests this move will benefit both equally.
With the emergence of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Samson was forced to bat at No.3 when IPL 2025 resumed, but he might want to open to remain in contention for the Indian team. Meanwhile, CSK will likely part ways with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra and require a batter at the top, and Samson will fit perfectly.
Then, CSK will also require a wicketkeeper since MS Dhoni has shown signs of regression in the last two seasons. Samson has performed well as a leader and can replace Gaikwad to fill the role Dhoni has filled all these years.
Meanwhile, RR desperately require a more consistent spin-hitter than Nitish Rana and more Indian spinners, given Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga were mighty inconsistent. In Dube, they will have one of the finest spin-hitters who can be flexible with his batting position and a solid spinner in Ashwin, who has previously worked with RR.
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