EXCLUSIVE | Ravindra Jadeja Likely To Become Rajasthan Royals Captain, Sanju Samson Won’t Lead CSK | Cricket News

Captaincy for Ravindra Jadeja was part of the trade deal between CSK and RR.

(AFP Photo)

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s move to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will likely come with a bonus of the captaincy armband. News18 CricketNext has learned that Jadeja has asked the RR management for captaincy as part of their trade, which involves Sanju Samson moving the other way.

The 37-year-old India all-rounder wants to spend his last few years in the IPL with the extra responsibility of captaincy. RR have other options to consider, like Riyan Parag, who led the team when Samson was unavailable due to injuries last season, but prefer a new face in Jadeja to maintain the team’s internal stability.

Meanwhile, Samson will not take over CSK, at least for this season. The franchise is synonymous with MS Dhoni, whose future as a player beyond 2025 remains unclear, and Samson is his clear heir. However, they don’t plan to take away the job from Ruturaj Gaikwad, who also missed most of the last season with an injury.

Sources indicate that the high-profile move, which also involves all-rounder Sam Curran moving to RR, has been all but finalised from both sides and, barring any hiccups, will be announced in the next couple of days.

It would be a full-circle moment for Jadeja, who started his career at the Royals and played for them in the first two seasons. He was suspended in IPL 2010 for trying to negotiate a deal with the Mumbai Indians and eventually moved to CSK in 2012, where he went on to become a legend.

He picked up 143 wickets and scored 2198 runs in 186 matches and won the 2018, 2021, and 2023 titles. He would add some much-needed experience to an RR side that has tended to build around youthful stars.

This won’t be the first time he captains an IPL team either. Dhoni relinquished captaincy in 2022 and chose him to lead CSK, but it didn’t go as planned, with the franchise losing six of the first eight matches in the season. His personal form dipped, and before long, he stepped down, allowing Dhoni to take over again.

Samson, on the other hand, will add a bit of top-order flair to CSK. Though he didn’t win any titles at RR, the Kerala superstar was their longest-serving captain, leading them to 33 wins and 33 defeats in 67 matches. He is also the highest scorer in their history with 4219 runs in 155 matches.

While RR finished ninth in IPL 2025, CSK held the wooden spoon. All ten teams are required to confirm their retentions by November 15, with the mini-auction for IPL 2026 set to be held in December.