Everyone’s buzzing about whether Sanju Samson has already been traded, and whether the Rajasthan Royals are close to sealing the deal. True or not, the talk has IPL fans completely fired up. Nobody knows how it’ll all play out, but chatter among the teams doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Samson’s Potential Trade: Royals in Talks, CSK Deal Unlikely
A few days after Cricbuzz revealed that Sanju Samson had asked to be traded or released, it’s now come to light that the Rajasthan Royals have once again reached out to several franchises to check if they’re interested in signing the India wicketkeeper batter. Team owner Manoj Badale is personally leading the talks.
That chatter is Badale has even mentioned the names of specific players from different franchises that the Royals are keen on, in exchange for Samson. There is even talk that the Royals may have already reached or close to reaching an agreement with one of them.
Letters have been sent straight to the franchise owners, and most details have been kept quiet. But it’s understood that a trade with Chennai Super Kings, which has been talked about a lot recently, is unlikely. This is because Rajasthan Royals are said to have asked for either Ravindra Jadeja or Ruturaj Gaikwad in return, something CSK is not willing to agree to.
Shivam Dube's name has also cropped up in some quarters, but Chennai are unwilling to part with the India all-rounder either. In fact, CSK officials and management are said to be reluctant to release any of their players. As of mid-August, the much-anticipated move of Samson from Jaipur to Chennai appears a non-starter unless the Super Kings manage to secure him through extended negotiations or buy him in the auction.
Sanju Samson’s Future with Rajasthan Royals Still Unclear
There’s no certainty that Sanju Samson’s name will even be in the auction. With trade talks going on with several teams and strong interest from many franchises another team could still end up signing him. At the same time, he might also stay with the Rajasthan Royals, since the decision to release or trade a player rests entirely with the franchise. Apart from making a request, the player has very little control over the final call.
As previously reported here, Samson has made a formal request to the Royals management stating that he is seeking a new direction. There have apparently been many issues of differences between RR and Samson, one of which was the management's decision to release Jos Buttler. "Letting him go has been one of the most challenging decisions for me. During the England series, I told him over dinner that I was still not over it. If I could change one thing in the IPL, I would change the rule of releasing players every three years," Samson had told Star Sports before last IPL season.
Samson has stayed quiet about the rumours of any issues. In fact, in a recent podcast with R Ashwin, he said the Rajasthan Royals team means a lot to him. He even praised young left-handed batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who took his place at the top of the batting order. As reported earlier, Samson could still be with the Royals if no trade deal works out, but that looks very unlikely now.
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