The truth about IPL 2026’s most high-profile trade between Sanju Samson-Ravindra Jadeja is finally out.
For months, the trade deal between RR and CSK for Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja seemed like a rumour. Every report only rubbished the claim, saying, the talks were ‘stalled’. But then, the high-profile deal did eventually take place. This, despite Sanju calling ‘RR is like a family’ on a podcast with Ravichandran Ashwin.
Sanju Samson Wanted to Leave RR
But now it seems, the truth behind the trade deal is finally out. After the IPL retentions 2026 were named on Saturday, RR uploaded a video of owner Manoj Badale, coming up with a new version. It seems, after a poor run in IPL 2025, Sanju Samson wanted to move away from the team, where they had finished 9th.
“The first time this year that Sanju Samson, or in the past year, he talked about moving out was probably in Kolkata towards the end of the season. We had a meeting after the game. He’s a very honest guy, and he was personally, emotionally drained. He cares a huge amount about RR. And I think having our worst season in 18 years took a lot out of him,” Badale said in the video.
Ravindra Jadeja Excited to Come Back ‘Home’
The owner then said, coming from Sanju, he could not refuse, after having given more than a decade to the team. “When he made the request, it felt different for us. Because he is a very authentic man, and if he says something, he means it. He’d been an extraordinary servant of the franchise for 14 years. It’s just not the batting that the fans see, or the sixes, it’s everything he’s put into it. When we made the decision to make him captain, that was a high-risk decision. He was a young, inexperienced captain. He’s put everything into that role.”
When it came to getting back Jadeja, he explained how the latter was also excited to come back to the franchise, that him the recognition. “Jaddu reached out to me about four weeks ago, mid of October, to say that he was really excited about the potential, to come back ‘home’. I want to be clear, it wasn’t a trade for Jadeja, it was a trade for Jadeja and Sam Curran. It was the combination of the two and how the two of them fill, those 3 or 4 slots,” he added.
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