The possibility of Sanju Samson being traded ahead of the IPL 2026 season is gaining momentum, with social media flooded with speculation and fan debates. Just days after reports claimed that the wicketkeeper-batter had requested the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for either a trade or a direct release, fresh developments indicate that the Royals themselves have reached out to other franchises to explore the option of releasing him.
Manoj Badale Leading Negotiations
According to a Cricbuzz report, RR’s lead owner Manoj Badale has personally stepped in to oversee the trade discussions. The British-Indian businessman has reportedly provided other franchises with a list of players the Royals would like in exchange for Samson.
It is understood that RR have set their sights on either Ruturaj Gaikwad or Ravindra Jadeja from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as part of a potential swap. However, sources reveal that CSK’s management is unwilling to part with any of their top Indian stars in exchange for Samson.
“𝑨𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒊 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅.”
Sanju Samson’s Future Still Uncertain
As of mid-August, the prospect of Samson joining CSK appears unlikely, though the player could still be picked up by another franchise before the IPL mini-auction. Nevertheless, there remains a possibility that Samson could stay with RR until the auction window.
For context, IPL rules allow franchises to trade players before the auction, and Samson has been a part of RR since 2018.
Reasons Behind the Trade Request
Reports suggest that Samson is seeking a fresh direction in his IPL career. Additionally, there have been murmurs of differences between Sanju Samson and the RR management over issues such as captaincy responsibilities and his batting position.
“𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒋𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑹𝒂𝒋𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒔,” 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅.
While the next few weeks will be crucial, one thing is certain — the Sanju Samson trade saga has already become one of the most talked-about stories of the IPL 2026 pre-season.
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