Sanju Samson takes a dig against Rajasthan Royals: Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is just a few weeks away. The IPL Managing Committee and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced a schedule of only 20 matches of the competition due to the Legislative Assembly elections. However, it is believed that the rest of the schedule will be released later.
Before IPL, teams are getting ready for this mega event. Among these, five-time champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has also started its training. However, some players are still not included in the team. Sanju Samson is one player who has not joined the CSK camp yet. The wicketkeeper batsman was part of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 winning team.
This is the first time I will play against Rajasthan Royals- Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson was traded from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to CSK. The deal, which included an exchange of players with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran, brought Samson to CSK on a salary of Rs 18 crore. Samson was asked by PTI about facing his former franchise in the IPL.
Video | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: “This is the first time I will be playing against Rajasthan Royals, but I don’t let emotions take over on the field. I left Rajasthan Royals because I felt my time in the team is over. Even if we come against them now, I will play my best cricket,”… pic.twitter.com/yhzyONME20
– Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) 16 March 2026
Sanju said, “This is the first time I will be playing against Rajasthan Royals, but I don’t let emotions take over the field. I left Rajasthan Royals because I felt my time in the team is over. Even if we come up against them now, I will play my best cricket.”
Sanju Samson will maintain his T20 World Cup form
Sanju Samson was in great form during the T20 World Cup and was awarded the Player of the Tournament award for his excellent batting. In 5 matches, he scored 321 runs for the India national cricket team with an average of over 80. Since his debut in the team, the batsman has displayed his amazing batting skills.
Sanju started his IPL career with Kolkata Knight Riders. Since then he has played 177 IPL matches. CSK will be his fourth franchise. Since his IPL debut in 2013, the Kerala wicketkeeper has played for RR in all except two seasons, 2016 and 2017, when he played for Delhi Capitals.
CSK wants to make a comeback after a bad IPL in 2025
Sanju Samson was also the captain of the Royals and led them to the 2022 IPL final. However, in the end there was defeat; This time he is not the captain of CSK, but will play under the leadership of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
After a dreadful 2025 season for the five-time winners, as they finished bottom of the table for the first time, they will be looking to turn things around this season and qualify for the playoffs. The CSK management has changed its philosophy after picking up two uncapped Indian players, Karthik Sharma and Prashant Veer for Rs 14.25 crore.
CSK are looking for their first trophy since 2023, and have had a poor two seasons, failing to qualify for the playoffs.
CSK Team:
Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Ayush Mhatre, MS Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brewis, Urvil Patel, Shivam Dubey, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmed, Khalil Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapaneet Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Chaudhary, Nathan Ellis, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Karthik Sharma, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Jack Foulkes.
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