In one of the most high-profile player trades in IPL history, Rajasthan Royals are set to trade wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in exchange of allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.
It is understood that both franchises have spoken to all three players involved but neither franchise confirmed the development when ESPNcricinfo reached out to them.
Both RR and CSK have to send an expression of interest naming the three players involved in the trade to the IPL governing council. As per the trading rules, once the players' written consent comes in, the franchises can have further discussions for a final agreement, which will also be ratified by the governing council.
Samson and Jadeja have been with their respective franchises for a long time. Samson has represented RR for 11 seasons, while Jadeja has played for CSK since 2012, barring the two seasons in 2016 and 2017 when the franchises were suspended. Samson had indicated after IPL 2025 that he was looking for a change and wanted to be released by RR.
Jadeja was retained by CSK ahead of the 2025 mega auction for INR 18 crore as the second player after captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. Along with MS Dhoni, Jadeja has been a constant part of their core. He has been part of three of CSK's five title wins.
Jadeja played a crucial role in CSK's win in the 2023 final, with his batting heroics in the last over against Gujarat Titans. It was also his best season with the ball as he finished with 20 wickets. He followed the feat with the bat in 2025, scoring 301 runs in the season, including two fifties.
Jadeja has played 254 IPL matches, the fifth-most in the tournament behind Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik. With 143 wickets, he is the highest wicket-taker for CSK with best bowling figures of 5 for 16. He has the most Player-of-the-Match awards (16) along with Dhoni too. In 2022, Jadeja was appointed CSK captain, but handed the captaincy back to Dhoni midway after a poor start to the season.
RR was the first team Jadeja represented in the IPL as a 19-year-old, and also the first team he won the title with in 2008. Jadeja played for RR for the first two seasons but was suspended in 2010 by the IPL for trying to negotiate a contract with Mumbai Indians directly. After the ban, Jadeja featured for Kochi Tuskers in 2011 before being bought by CSK for USD 2 million in 2012.
After an impressive maiden IPL in 2013, when RR finished third as well as runner-up in the Champions League T20, Samson was the youngest player retained at 19 ahead of the 2014 season. That first stint lasted until RR's two-year suspension in 2016-17 and Samson rejoined the franchise in 2018. He was appointed captain in 2021 and, in 2022, working with Kumar Sangakkara, RR's team director, led the franchise to the IPL final for the first time since 2008.
Samson has led RR in 33 wins and 33 defeats in 67 matches. In 2024, when RR made the playoffs again, he had a 500-run IPL season for the first time, scoring 531 at an average of 48.27 and strike rate of 153.47. He was one of six players retained by RR ahead of last year's mega auction at INR 18 crore and he also remained captain. However, a side injury ruled him out of the second half of IPL 2025, and RR kept losing matches from strong positions to finish ninth out of ten teams.
Samson is RR's leading run-scorer with 4027 runs, has the joint-most 50-plus scores (25), the joint-highest score (124), and has taken the most catches (149). After he informed RR that he wanted to be released, the franchise initiated trade talks with several teams.
Curran began his IPL career at Punjab Kings in 2019 and played for them again in 2023 - when he became the league's most expensive player at INR 18.5 crore - and 2024. In between, he played for CSK in 2020 and 2021. Curran was bought back by CSK for INR 2.4 crore in the 2025 season, when he finished with 114 runs and only one wicket in five games.