Big Setback For Sanju Samson After Rahul Dravid's Exit, Report Says RR Captain Set To...

Sanju Samson, whose relationship with IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals has reportedly soured, might lose the captaincy, according to a report. After the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, rumours started doing the rounds that Sanju Samson, a long-time RR loyalist, had asked the franchise to release him ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction. Rajasthan Royals finished a lowly ninth in IPL 2025, with just four wins from 14 games. Samson, according to a report by Revsportz, is keen to play for a different franchise. MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were approached for a swap involving Samson and Shivam Dube or Ravindra Jadeja. The offer was rejected.

The likely development surrounding Sanju Samson has come close on the heels of Rahul Dravid stepping down as Rajasthan Royals coach.

"Samson was clearly unhappy with the way things unfolded for the Royals during the IPL, in addition to his injury. Dravid, though, may not be solely responsible for the captain's disillusionment. Their relationship was believed to have been no more than the usual, normal, and regular disagreements that are seen in the relationship between any coach and captain. In fact, both of them are old Royals hands, and one would only assume that their coming together would be critical to the franchise's future—and by all accounts, this was evident in the last few games where they seemed to be syncing together nicely to win a few games," a report in Cricbuzz recently said.

The report further stated that there were three schools of thought regarding the RR captaincy — with three stars, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Riyan Parag, in the fray.

"It was not as if the equation between them was totally damaged. The buzz outside the setup suggests that within the franchise, there were three different schools of thought: one group pushed for Riyan Parag, who captained the side in a few games; another backed Yashasvi Jaiswal as the future leader; while a third preferred maintaining the status quo — with Samson continuing at the helm," it said.

Topics mentioned in this article

Sanju Samson Rahul Dravid Rajasthan Royals Cricket