Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes that the trade agreement between CSK and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for Sanju Samson will not succeed. Samson is reportedly unwilling to remain with RR and wants to leave the team ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, according to a number of reports.
CSK has indicated that they would like to hire Samson. Ashwin asserts that the trade agreement may not materialize. Prior to the mega auction, Samson was signed for Rs 18 crore, although he missed a number of games because of injury. Speaking about the potential Samson trade between CSK and RR, Ashwin stated that it might not go through because RR is unlikely to receive any valuable players in exchange.
“Why the CSK-RR trade won’t work is because if Sanju is traded to CSK, and RR then try to trade with other teams, they’re unlikely to get valuable players in return. For example, if RR want a spinner like Ravi Bishnoi and approach LSG, the problem is that if LSG acquire Sanju and give away Bishnoi, they also have to manage the remaining purse required to retain Sanju — which becomes LSG’s responsibility. CSK generally don’t believe in trading. They aren’t going to trade players like Ravindra Jadeja or Shivam Dube. So, in all likelihood, Sanju coming to CSK is bleak, for the reasons I’ve explained. RR don’t have much to gain from this kind of trade,” said Ashwin on his YouTube Channel.
Samson began his IPL journey with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2012 but did not feature in any match. The following year, he was picked by Rajasthan Royals and made his tournament debut. After representing RR until 2015, he joined Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In 2018, he returned to Rajasthan, eventually leading the team to their second-ever final in 2022, where they finished runners-up.
Samson has therefore played a crucial role in RR for several seasons. Whether he chooses to move to another team or stay with the team till 2026 is still up in the air.
