Sanju Samson will reportedly continue playing for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026, putting an end to speculations that have been doing the rounds for weeks. Earlier in July, reports claimed that five-time champions CSK were interested in having the Kerala keeper-batter in their team for the next edition. However, a new report has now claimed that RR has no plans to let go of any player, let alone Sanju.
Samson to stick with RR for IPL 2026
As per Times of India, a source claimed that RR have decided not to trade Samson or any of their players for now. The report quotes a source who claims that the keeper-batter is an integral part of the team setup and is the undisputed captain of the franchise. Speculations of Samson’s potential trade came to the fore after he struggled with injuries during IPL 2025 and was replaced by Riyan Parag as the RR captain.
“RR have decided not to trade Samson or any of their players for now. Samson is very much a part of the Royals’ set-up and the undisputed captain of the team,” the source said.
Samson managed to feature in just 9 matches in the previous edition of the tournament. He scored just 285 runs, including one fifty and averaged 35.82. The buzz over his potential move to CSK gained momentum after Sanju’s agent Prashobh Sudevan, liked a social media post hinting that the 30-year-old could move to CSK.
However, on July 16, Samson and RR’s Head of International Player Development, Siddhartha Lahiri, met in person. Lahiri posted the image online and wrote, “Lunch with the skipper is always great fun.”
With Samson not captaining RR in most matches, the team finished at the 9th position on the IPL 2025 points table. The Royals managed to win jusst 4 out of 14 matches but ended the season on a winning note with a 6-wicket victory against CSK.
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