Prior to the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) season, Aakash Chopra, a former opener for India, has recognized media reports indicating that Sanju Samson has drawn trade interest from several IPL teams, most notably the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Chopra stated that he would be interested in seeing how the Rajasthan Royals (RR) would react to such offers, especially if talks with CSK come to fruition. He mentioned that in return, Rajasthan would look to acquire a well-known star like Ravindra Jadeja.
During the early phases of the trading window, which began on June 4th, the day after the 2025 IPL final, and will run until one week before the 2026 players' auction, up to six Rajasthan Royals players have attracted attention from rival teams, a PTI report stated.
Following the auction, the trading window will reopen and close again exactly one month before the start of the new season.
"Will this trade happen? CSK has expressed interest, but they haven’t reached the stage of talks where potential trade names have been discussed. 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 said on his YouTube show.
Since returning to the Royals in 2018 following a two-season spell with the Delhi Capitals, Samson has served as the team's spokesperson. Last year, Rajasthan paid Rs 18 crore to retain him ahead of the major auction, making him their first choice.
The squad now has a plethora of batting alternatives, though. Reliable wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel has made an impression on the international scene, and 14-year-old wonder Vaibhav Suryavanshi was an IPL 2025 breakout star.
Samson moved to the middle order while Vaibhav and Yashasvi Jaiswal began the batting in the later part of the season. Riyan Parag is also being considered by RR to be the next face of the franchise.
As a wicketkeeper-batter for the Chennai Super Kings, a team looking for a long-term replacement for its legendary captain, Samson might be MS Dhoni's logical successor, according to Chopra.
Urvil Patel, an uncapped Gujarati wicketkeeper-batter, was brought in by CSK as a replacement. Even though he performed well in the second half of the season with young players Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis, there are still concerns over whether he is ready to take Dhoni's place.
"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. So he could be a very good option.
In my original picks, I’d considered Dhruv Jurel as well. I even thought about Rishabh Pant. This team needs a wicketkeeper-batter—and it’s not Urvil Patel. They need someone with a pedigree, experience, and a bigger name. If you’re carrying forward MS Dhoni’s legacy, you need a player of that caliber," he added.
MS Dhoni, who will be 45 next year, is yet to confirm whether he’ll play in IPL 2026. Nevertheless, CSK will need to begin preparing for a post-Dhoni era.
