Sanju headlines the moves and shakes in IPL pre-season – Onmanorama

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Dr KN Raghavan
Published: November 17, 2025 06:53 AM IST Updated: November 17, 2025 07:03 AM IST
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The magic of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is such that there is a buzz about it even during those months when cricket is not in session. Within a few weeks after the completion of a season, the first rumours about player drop-offs and retention by the various franchisees start to appear in print and on social media. They gradually build momentum and reach a crescendo in the weeks leading up to the auction, when the teams start planning their player trades. This is followed by the auction, after which the sides start the serious work of preparing for the fresh season. Thus, there is close to a year activity centred around the championship and the players, which helps to keep the followers of the sport engaged with this top-ranked tournament.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a few days ago that the next auction of players for the IPL will take place in Abu Dhabi on 16 December, making it the third consecutive year the event is held outside India. As this is a mini auction, it will be conducted as a one-day event. However, the followers of cricket and the fans of the various franchisees were more interested in the “trade” of players, which allows players to move from one franchisee to another without going through the auction process.
IPL rules specify that player trading can commence one month after the end of a season, up to one week before the auction, and continue thereafter until one month remains before the start of the tournament. Such trades have been an integral part of IPL since 2009, when the Mumbai Indians (MI) allowed the transfer of Shikhar Dhawan and Ashish Nehra to the Delhi Daredevils. Trading is done either by the franchisee paying the player to release him or through a mutually agreed swap of cricketers. The consent of the concerned players is mandatory before a trade can be undertaken. A player may or may not get a share of the amount paid for his transfer. The most famous trade in the history of IPL was the one involving the movement of Hardik Pandya from the Gujarat Titans (GT) to MI in 2023.
The big news in the run-up to the auction this year is the move of Sanju Samson from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Sanju joined the RR camp in 2013 as a promising youngster and has stayed loyal to this franchise during the last 11 years. Though his entry to this side was on account of the good word put in by Sreesanth, he was fortunate to be taken under the wings by  Rahul Dravid, who moulded his career. Sanju honed his skills as a batsman and wicket keeper under the watchful eyes of Dravid and soon began knocking on the doors of the national side. It can be said without any hesitation that Sanju reached the reckoning for a place in the national side only on account of his electrifying performances with the bat in IPL.
Sanju was appointed as the captain of RR in 2021, joining the short list of cricketers who have had the opportunity to lead a side in the IPL despite not being a regular member of the national squad. He has been consistent with the bat, scoring a total of 4704 runs in 177 matches for this franchise at an average of 30.95 and a strike rate of 139.05. This exemplary record shows the contributions Sanju has made to RR over the years. Besides, he led the franchisee to the finals of the 2022 edition of the championship; the team also clocked impressive performances in 2023 and 2024, finishing 5th and 3rd, respectively.
Hence, the question that emerges is what prompted Sanju to break off a long-standing relationship that has worked well for both sides? News reports indicate that Sanju has not been seeing eye to eye with the RR management over issues involving team selections. There were also reports that Sanju was upset over the RR’s decision to release Jos Butler ahead of the IPL mega auction last year. Sanju did not want to disrupt the successful partnership that he had formed with Butler at the top of the order but the team management thought otherwise and went ahead with releasing Butler. The colourless performance of the side in the previous edition of IPL, where they finished at a lowly 9th place, must also have weighed in the minds of the RR management when they accepted Sanju’s request for release from the side.
While there exists an element of surprise in Sanju deciding to part ways in RR, there is no such element behind CSK’s wish to have him in the side. CSK are one of the most successful sides in IPL with five championship wins under their belt. They possess a huge fan base, which has been a major source of strength, contributing handsomely to their near invincibility on their home turf. They also have on their side Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the most charismatic figure and longest-lasting cricketer-captain in the history of this championship. However, their performances have been disappointing of late, and they had to suffer the ignominy of being the first team knocked out of the championship in 2025. The fact that they failed to qualify for the knockout stage in four of the last six editions of the championship shows that the rot runs deep and that their strategies and methods need a complete overhaul.
The reasons for this rapid downward slide in performance are many. The first amongst them is the series’ of sluggish starts provided by the opening batsmen. While other sides invariably throw caution to the wind and start their innings in a hyper-aggressive mode to make the maximum use of power play, the approach of CSK’s top order is usually staid and conservative. The injury to Rituraj Gaikwad, which made him miss most part of last season, added to their misery. The failure of middle and lower order to come good with big knocks pulled them down further. The diminishing returns provided by Dhoni added to their woes. Though his game sense and abilities as a wicketkeeper are largely intact, he is past his prime as a batsman, and his famed skills as a finisher have almost vanished.  Further, he is in his mid-40s, and it is not fair to expect him to maintain the fitness levels required to meet the challenges of playing a highly demanding championship.
These circumstances warrant CSK investing in an aggressive opening or top-order batsman who can provide an explosive start to their innings. They also need a wicket keeper to take over the mantle from Dhoni in case the great man is not fit enough for the whole length of the tournament. They may also think about investing in a future captain since Dhoni’s days at the helm will also come to an end sooner than later. Presently, there are only two cricketers in the country who are capable of meeting these three criteria- Rishabh Pant and Sanju. Pant is out of the reckoning after being bought by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the mega auction of last year for the highest ever amount in the history of IPL: Hence, one could understand the eagerness of CSK  to go all out to ensure that they did not miss out on the opportunity to procure the services of Sanju. The extent of despair in their camp was evident from the fact that they were even prepared to swap two all-rounders – Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran – to get Sanju into their fold.
For Sanju, this move opens up an opportunity of epic proportions. If he is able to fashion the return of CSK to the pole position with the power of his stroke play, he stands a good chance to succeed Dhoni as the captain of this iconic side. Leading this celebrated side with its big fan base will be a dream come true for this unassuming cricketer from Kerala. Besides taking him to the heights of popularity, this will help his efforts to earn a permanent spot in the national side in the white-ball version of the game. Let us wish Sanju Samson good luck as he embarks on a new phase of his career!
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