Sanju Samson expressed his gratitude to Rajasthan Royals through social media following his trade to Chennai Super Kings for the 2026 Indian Premier League season.In a significant IPL trade, Samson moved to CSK while Rajasthan Royals received Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran in exchange.
“We are only here for a short period of time. Gave MY everything to this franchise, enjoyed some great cricket, made some lifetime relations, treated everyone in the franchise as my family..And when its time..I AM moving On..Shall always be grateful for everything @rajasthanroyals,” Samson wrote on his social media. The trade agreement maintains Samson’s existing price of Rs 18 crores at CSK. Jadeja’s fee has been adjusted to Rs 14 crores from Rs 18 crores, while Curran moves to RR at Rs 2.4 crores.Samson’s association with Rajasthan Royals spans over a decade, covering 11 seasons. He joined the team in 2013 and was retained the following year at age 19.Following RR’s two-year suspension, Samson returned in 2018 and became captain in 2021. Under his leadership and Kumar Sangakkara’s guidance as team director, RR reached their first IPL final since 2008 in 2022.As captain, Samson led RR in 67 matches with 33 wins and 33 losses. His performance peaked in 2024 with 531 runs at an average of 48.27 and strike rate of 153.47, including five fifties.Despite being retained for Rs 18 crore in 2025, a side injury forced him to miss half the season. RR’s performance declined, resulting in a ninth-place finish among ten teams.In the 2025 season, Samson scored 285 runs in nine innings, maintaining an average above 35 and a strike rate exceeding 140, with one fifty.During RR’s suspension years of 2016 and 2017, Samson played for Delhi Capitals.Throughout his tenure, Samson became RR’s highest run-scorer in IPL and Champions League T20, accumulating 4,219 runs in 155 matches at an average of 31.96 and a strike rate above 140, including two centuries and 26 fifties.
