3 CSK Players RR Could Target If Sanju Samson Trade Happens – Cricket.com

Rajasthan Royals (RR) had a terrible Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, finishing at No.9 on the points table. Sanju Samson and his men could only win four of their 14 games, and now reports have started emerging that RR could hand over their skipper to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2026 trade window, which, according to several media reports, will begin on July 4. 
If that does end up happening, here are three CSK players RR could target through the Samson trade.
It would only be fair to replace a captain with another captain. Ruturaj Gaikwad was appointed CSK’s captain ahead of IPL 2024, but the 28-year-old has failed to stamp his authority. After winning the trophy in 2023 under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2024. Gaikwad only featured in five games in 2025 before getting injured, and CSK lost four of those encounters.
Gaikwad might have struggled in the captaincy department but there is no denying that he is far more consistent with the bat than Samson. Since IPL 2021, Gaikwad has scored 2298 runs at an average of 39.62, four more than Samson. Gaikwad could give RR some much-needed consistency at the top.
RR had the second-worst average (39.1) and balls/wicket (25.1) in the spin department in IPL 2025. Sri Lankan spin duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana failed to make any impact, and that’s where they could look up to someone like Noor Ahmad. 
The left-arm wrist-spinner from Afghanistan ended IPL 2025 as the second-highest wicket-taker. Noor claimed 24 wickets at an average of 17 and an economy rate of 8.2. Noor is a genuine wicket-taker and could turn out to be RR’s biggest game-changer.
Ravindra Jadeja was part of RR’s squad that won the inaugural season of IPL, and has become a CSK legend since then. Jadeja might be 36 but could easily go on to play two-three more seasons because of how fit he is. The spin-bowling all-rounder scored 301 runs at an average of 33.44 and a strike rate of 135.58 and also picked up 10 wickets at an economy of 8.56.
Apart from being an economical option with the ball, Jadeja could also provide RR with some much-needed experience in the middle order – an area where they struggled heavily last season.
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