'Dhoni’s last year,' says ex-India batter Kaif if CSK-RR go through Samson-Jadeja IPL trade

Former India batter Mohammed Kaif says IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) wanting Sanju Samson means MS Dhoni will be playing his last IPL in upcoming season. The statement comes a day after trade talks between CSK and Rajasthan Royals which includes a swap for Sanju Samson from RR to CSK for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. While the deal has not been finalised yet, Kaif thinks CSK roping in Samson would mean that he'll captain the side as he has been doing with RR.

Kaif on CSK-RR trade for Samson-Jadeja

“If Samson is likely to join CSK, there would be a lot of calls. Sanju must have called on the phone. Behind the scenes, there are a lot of phone calls. Sanju might have spoken to CSK, maybe Dhoni, ‘Bhai kya lagta hai (How does it seem).’ See, Dhoni runs the team, and if CSK wants Sanju this time, then he is also the future captain. It also means that this is Dhoni’s last year. Why would they want Sanju? Jadeja has been playing for them for a long time (since 2012),” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

What is the trade all about?

After the IPL 2025 season, there were reports that Samson is looking out from the Royals. Now, according to Cricbuzz, both the franchises, CSK and RR are actively looking at the trade involving Samson and Jadeja. Both the players are one of the core members of their respective teams and have been involved with them for many years counting. If happens, this trade is going to be one of the biggest in the league history. The previous high-profile trade in IPL involved Hardik Pandya moving to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans and replacing Rohit Sharma as skipper as well.