With less than a week to go for the IPL 2026 player retentions, the Sanju Samson situation took a fresh turn with the trade talks rekindling between the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings.
After five months of speculation, it appears Sanju Samson’s exit from Rajasthan Royals (RR) is imminent. The Indian Express on Sunday reported that CSK is finalising a trade that would bring Samson to Chepauk, where he was reportedly eyed by management as a potential replacement for MS Dhoni. The deal, which is expected to conclude before the November 15 retention deadline, will see RR acquire Ravindra Jadeja and one of Sam Curran or Matheesha Pathirana. This high-stakes transfer is now pending confirmation of the second player involved, and Samson’s arrival could force a decision regarding the 44-year-old Dhoni’s future with CSK.
Dhoni and the Jaddu sacrifice
Former India batter Mohammed Kaif feels Dhoni will not be averse to leaving his long-time teammate Jadeja out of the CSK combination, keeping the future of the franchise in mind. Kaif also said that CSK would not feel the effects of losing Jadeja as much with the ball, as they have a prime spin enforcer in Noor Ahmad for the middle overs.
“For Dhoni, making the team win is the biggest goal. If he is coming to play again, he will be thinking CSK finished 10th in the standings last year. He is a man of pride; hence, his biggest goal will be to make the team win another trophy. A team cannot win the trophy based on one player,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
“If Jadeja has to be sacrificed for the team’s good, Dhoni will do it. People say how Dhoni operates based on friendships and does it, giving them a couple of extra chances. But it doesn’t mean his focus goes away from winning. The goal is to make CSK a champion. That’s why he will let go of Jadeja if it has to be done. If Dhoni feels he can get a better option for the team, he will take the decision,” remarked Kaif.
‘Sanju would have spoken to Dhoni’
Kaif also feels that the upcoming season could indeed close Dhoni’s playing career if they successfully rope in Samson.
“If Samson is likely to join CSK, there would be a lot of calls. Sanju must have called on the phone. Behind the scenes, there are a lot of phone calls. Sanju might have spoken to CSK, maybe Dhoni, ‘Bhai kya lagta hai.’ See, Dhoni runs the team, and if CSK wants Sanju this time, then he is also the future captain. It also means that this is Dhoni’s last year. Why would they want Sanju? Jadeja has been playing for them for a long time (since 2012).”
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“The style of batting Sanju Samson has, he is more likely to succeed with the bat in Chennai than Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul. He might come at No. 3 or 4, and he can hit sixes in the middle overs,” he added.
