&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "IPL 2026: Sanju Samson breaks silence on his equation with Rajasthan Royals amid transfer request rumours")
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson broke his silence on his equation with his IPL franchise amid rumours of him handing in a transfer request ahead of the next season. The latest reports suggest that Samson has asked RR to release him before the IPL 2026 trade window closes, with the keeper-batter seeking life elsewhere in this cash-rich league. Part of the Royals family since making his IPL debut for them in 2012, Samson, who also played for Delhi Daredevils in the meantime, now captains the team, having led them to an IPL final in 2022.
He even led Rajasthan Royals this season, although he sat out of five matches due to a side strain, with Riyan Parag assuming the captaincy duties in his absence. In IPL 2025, he played nine games and scored 285 runs with just one fifty-plus score (66). However, due to regular shuffling in the leadership group and a failed team effort throughout, RR stood ninth on the points table, winning just four out of 14 contested matches.
Meanwhile, in a recent chat with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Samson spoke his heart out on his relations with his IPL team.
Also read | IPL 2026: How Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s arrival forced Sanju Samson to part ways with Rajasthan Royals
"RR has meant the world to me. A small child coming from a village in Kerala, wanting to show his talent. And then Rahul (Dravid) sir and Manoj Badale sir gave me a stage to get up and show the world what I am made of," Samson recalled while speaking with Ashwin.
"That time, they trusted me throughout. The journey with RR has been really great, and I’m very grateful to have been in a franchise like that. It really means a lot to me,” Samson said of RR backing him during his early years in the league.
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Meanwhile, RR appointed Samson the full-time captain in 2021, with his team succeeding under his leadership, while also nurturing several young talents, who later represented India across different formats.
Ahead of the last IPL 2025 mega auction, Rajasthan retained Sanju for a whopping INR 18 crore, alongside five other players, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer and Sandeep Sharma.
