Former India opener Aakash Chopra has weighed in on the growing speculation linking Sanju Samson with a move from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Reports have suggested that multiple IPL teams, including the five-time champions CSK, are interested in acquiring the Royals skipper.
According to a Cricbuzz report, a CSK official confirmed there is genuine interest in bringing Samson into their squad.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒋𝒖. 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓. 𝑺𝒐 𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒅,”
the official said on condition of anonymity.
Rajasthan Could Demand a Big Name in Return
While neither Samson nor the franchises have confirmed any negotiations, Aakash Chopra suggested that if talks advance, Rajasthan Royals might ask for a senior player in exchange.
“𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏? 𝑪𝑺𝑲 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏’𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅,”
Chopra explained on his YouTube channel. “Rajasthan may want either Ashwin or Jadeja in return. It’s well within their rights to ask, if the trade ever progresses that far.”
Chopra highlighted that such a high-profile swap would only happen if discussions move forward substantially.
Planning for Life After Dhoni
Chopra also elaborated on why CSK pursuing Samson makes strategic sense for the franchise, particularly with MS Dhoni nearing retirement.
“𝑨 𝑪𝑺𝑲 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓-𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝑺 𝑫𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒊,”
Chopra noted. “So he could be a very good option.”
For now, the talks remain speculative, and it is unclear whether either side is ready to take the next step toward an official negotiation.
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