Sanju Samson takes a swipe against Rajasthan Royals: The 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 the schedule for just 20 matches of the competition due to the Legislative Assembly election. However, it is believed that the rest of the schedule will be released later.
Ahead of the IPL, the teams are getting ready for the mega event. Among them, five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have also started their training. However, some players are yet to join the squad. Sanju Samson is one player who is yet to join the CSK camp. The wicket-keeper batter was part of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 winning squad.
This is the first time I will play against Rajasthan Royals- Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson was traded to CSK from the Rajasthan Royals (RR). The deal, which involved a player-swap with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran, brought Samson to CSK on an INR 18 crore salary. Samson was asked by PTI about facing his former franchise in the IPL.
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VIDEO | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: “This is the first time I will play against Rajasthan Royals, but I don’t let emotions rule me on the field. I left Rajasthan Royals because I felt my time in the team was over. Even if we come up against them now, I will play my best cricket,”… pic.twitter.com/yhzyONME20
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 16, 2026
Sanju said, “This is the first time I will play against Rajasthan Royals, but I don’t let emotions rule me on the field. I left Rajasthan Royals because I felt my time in the team was over. Even if we come up against them now, I will play my best cricket.”
Sanju Samson to carry his T20 World Cup form
Sanju Samson was in brilliant form during the T20 World Cup, and he was awarded the Player of the Tournament award for his phenomenal batting display. In 5 matches, he scored 321 runs for the India National Cricket Team, with an average of over 80. Since his inception on the team, the batter has displayed his amazing batting skills.
Sanju started his IPL career with the 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 the Delhi Capitals.
CSK look to fight back after poor 2025 IPL
Sanju Samson was also the captain for the Royals and led them to the 2022 IPL final. However, ended up on the losing side; this time, he is not the captain for CSK, but will be playing under Ruturaj Gaikwad.
After a horrifying 2025 season for the five-time winners, as they finished at the bottom of the table for the first time, they would like to turn around and qualify for the playoffs this season. The CSK management has a change in their philosophy after they picked two uncapped Indian players, Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer, for INR 14.25 crores each.
CSK have been looking for their first trophy since 2023, and they have had a poor two seasons, failing to qualify for the playoffs.
CSK Squad:
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, M.S. Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes.
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