Samson will represent CSK from the next edition at his existing price of Rs 18 crore.
Mumbai: In one of the biggest trades in Indian Premier League (IPL) history, Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, the mainstay of Rajasthan Royals (RR) for years, has been traded to five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In return, RR receive CSK legend Ravindra Jadeja and all-rounder Sam Curran.
Samson will represent CSK from the next edition at his existing price of Rs 18 crore. Jadeja’s league fee has been revised from Rs 18 crore to Rs 14 crore, while Curran moves to RR at his existing price of Rs 2.4 crore, according to an IPL statement.
Samson had been the face of RR for over a decade, representing them in 11 seasons. Joining in 2013, he quickly rose as a key player and was retained ahead of the 2014 season at just 19. After RR’s two-year suspension, he returned in 2018 and took over the captaincy in 2021. Under him and team director Kumar Sangakkara, RR reached the IPL 2022 final, their first since winning the inaugural edition.
He led RR in 67 matches, winning and losing 33 each. Samson’s best season came in 2024, when he scored 531 runs at an average of 48.27 and a strike rate of 153.47. Retained for Rs 18 crore ahead of 2025, a side injury ruled him out midway, contributing to RR’s collapse as they finished ninth. In 2025, he scored 285 runs in nine innings at an average above 35 and a strike rate above 140.
Across IPL and Champions League T20, Samson is RR’s highest run-scorer with 4,219 runs in 155 matches, averaging 31.96 with a strike rate above 140, including two centuries and 26 fifties.
On the other hand, Jadeja returns to RR, the team he represented in 2008–09 and with whom he won the inaugural IPL title. He played for CSK from 2012 to 2025, apart from stints with Kochi Tuskers Kerala (2011) and Gujarat Lions (2016–17).
Jadeja is CSK’s all-time leading wicket-taker with 143 scalps in 186 matches and their highest run-getter with 2,198 runs. Retained for Rs 18 crore ahead of 2025 as CSK’s second-choice pick after Ruturaj Gaikwad, he has played 254 IPL matches — the fifth-most in history. His iconic moment came in the 2023 final, where he sealed the title with last-over heroics. He has won three IPL titles with CSK.
Curran, 27, moves to his third IPL team after stints with Punjab Kings and CSK. In 64 IPL matches, he has 997 runs at 24.92 and 59 wickets at 34.45. Last season, he scored 114 runs in five innings for CSK and picked up one wicket.
The blockbuster trade marks one of the most significant reshuffles ahead of the next IPL season.
