Leaving this player was the biggest reason Sanju Samson wanted to leave RR

Sanju Samson, the captain of the Rajasthan Royals, wanted to leave the franchise after the management decided to release former England captain Jos Buttler. The 2008 IPL winners, instead of Jos Buttler, retained West Indian batter Shemron Hetmyer. After that, the Indian wicket-keeper batter wanted a 'new direction' to his IPL career and asked for a release.

Why did Sanju Samson want to leave RR?

Jost Buttler, who has been one of the greatest performers with the bat for the Rajasthan Royals, scored over 3055 runs in seven seasons, but was not retained by the team management before the IPL 2025 mega auction. The management, led by none other than Rahul Dravid, decided to go for Shemron Hetmyer, which cost them very much.

Sanju was not happy with that decision and always wanted to have 'Joss the Boss' in his team. Even Sanju felt like his thoughts were not given any importance, and it was clearly visible during the IPL 2025 games as well.

"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," Sanju had told Star Sports before the IPL 2025.

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Is it over between Sanju and RR?

As per Cricbuzz, the Rajasthan Royals owner Manoj Badale is doing the negotiations on a personal level with Sanju Samson, and there is still a chance that the wicket-keeper batter stays with the franchise. After all, it was the Royals where Sanju made his name and went on to play for India as well. In a podcast with Ravichadran Ashwin, despite the differences in mindset, Sanju praised the RR management and said that they mean the world to him.

So, it is not over until it is over between them.

Who is the option for trade?

As OTTplay had reported earlier, CSK are the frontrunner to have the services of the Kerala keeper. Along with them, KKR are another team that will go after him.

However, as per the recent reports, CSK are not looking for player trade and want to get involved in anything monetary. Royals, in the meantime, asked for players like RRavindra Jadeja or Ruturaj Gaikwad, which CSK feels is not a deal they are 'ready to entertain'.

In that case, RR have also asked for Shivam Dube, and CSK's response has been the same as well. Even Ravichandran Ashwin, in a video on his YouTube channel, said that there is very little chance now that Sanju would come to CSK as the 5-time Champions do not believe in trading players.

Sanju and RR's options?

If the trade does not happen, and RR wants to leave Sanju for the auction, he will go for a huge price as an Indian keeper batter, as we saw with Rishabh Pant, who went on to become the most expensive player in IPL auction history.

And, if RR do not want to release Sanju, whether he likes it or not, he will have to stay with the franchise until his contract ends.