Blockbuster IPL Trade sends shockwaves across the league as Royals set to trade Samson to CSK for Jadeja and Curran.
Rajasthan Royals set to trade Samson to CSK for Jadeja and Curran in blockbuster trade of the season.
Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson will be traded by Rajasthan Royals to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in exchange for all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran in one of the most prominent player swaps in IPL history.
Although it is known that both teams have communicated with each of the three players, neither team has verified the information.
The IPL governing council must receive an expression of interest from both RR and CSK that names the three players involved in the transfer. According to the trading rules, the franchises may continue to negotiate a final agreement that will also be approved by the governing council after receiving the players’ written assent.
Both Samson and Jadeja have a long history with their respective franchises. With the exception of the two seasons in 2016 and 2017 when the teams were suspended, Jadeja has played for CSK since 2012, whereas Samson has represented RR for eleven seasons. Samson had expressed his desire for a change and to be let go by RR following the 2025 IPL.
Jadeja, the second player after captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, was kept by CSK ahead of the 2025 super auction for INR 18 crore. Jadeja has consistently been a vital component of their core, along with MS Dhoni. Three of CSK’s five championship victories have involved him.
Jadeja’s batting heroics in the final over against Gujarat Titans were a major factor in CSK’s victory in the 2023 final. With 20 wickets at the end, it was also his best season with the ball. In 2025, he achieved the same feat with the bat, scoring 301 runs, including two fifties.
After Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Dinesh Karthik, Jadeja has participated in 254 IPL games, ranking fifth in the competition. He has taken the most wickets for CSK with 143, and his best bowling stats are 5 for 16. Together with Dhoni, he has won the most Player-of-the-Match honours (16).
Samson was the youngest player kept at 19 before the 2014 season, following an outstanding first IPL season in 2013 in which RR finished third and second in the Champions League T20. Samson returned to the team in 2018 after RR was suspended for two years in 2016–17. After being named captain in 2021, he and RR’s team director, Kumar Sangakkara, guided the team to the IPL final for the first time since 2008 in 2022.
In 67 games, Samson has led RR to 33 victories and 33 losses. RR scored 531 runs at an average of 48.27 and a strike rate of 153.47 during his first 500-run IPL season in 2024, when he qualified for the playoffs once more. Prior to the INR 18 crore mega auction last year, he was one of six players kept by RR, and he continued to be captain.
With 4027 runs, Samson is RR’s top run scorer. He also holds the joint-highest score (124), the most 50-plus scores (25), and the most catches (149). The team started trade negotiations with many teams after he told RR that he wanted to be released.
Curran started his IPL career with the Punjab Kings in 2019. He returned to the team in 2023 and 2024, when he earned INR 18.5 crore, making him the most expensive player in the tournament. He spent 2020 and 2021 as a player with CSK. When Curran concluded the 2025 season with 114 runs and just one wicket in five games, CSK acquired him back for INR 2.4 crore.