Why Sanju Samson to DC stopped at the last minute and reached CSK, again

NEW DELHI: Multiple franchises have tracked chatter on Sanju Samson ever since the glovesman expressed his desire to leave Rajasthan Royals after a seven-season-long association. Many enquired, most interacted, but months after chatter, negotiations and a lot of interest, Samson trade could well remain on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) table - a conversation which first happened months back. As TimesofIndia.com had reported on November 1, RR had reached out to CSK for a potential deal involving

Ravindra Jadeja

but there wasn't any movement, and it remained on the backburner because Delhi Capitals (DC) and RR were actively involved in negotiations. The two parties were closing in on a deal involving Samson and Tristan Stubbs, and while there was an agreement of sorts on that, the dealbreaker, it is learnt, turned out to be the uncapped player demand by the RR unit along with Stubbs.

The player demanded by RR was Sameer Rizvi, and there was a lot of reluctance within the DC camp to let go of the player they see a lot of potential in. The Stubbs deal was so close to getting inked that it even reached the ears of senior players in the DC unit, and also some prominent overseas names involved in the franchise. With the negotiations ending abruptly, RR, which had smartly kept other options active, knocked on CSK doors again.

The five-time champions, meanwhile, are understood to have reached out to Jadeja during that period, understanding his future plans and what he had in mind. It's understood that they gave their sharpest administrator the responsibility of doing the tough talk with Jadeja and getting clarity on the future. It is worth noting that this wasn't the first time RR and CSK were engaging on the Samson trade, but this time there was a lot of intent.That intent came from the fact that active negotiations and conversations with other franchises didn't materialise into a trade and that CSK still remained the interested party. While the franchise CEO Kasi Viswanathan maintained that they are hopeful of seeing

MS Dhoni

back on the park in 2026 but if the Samson deal materialises, that could change or reduce to far and few appearances from the former captain."We are extremely hopeful that he (MS Dhoni) will be playing the next season," Kasi Viswanathan had told TimesofIndia.com.A

IPL

trade remains a fluid conversation and on the CSK table is not just a direct swap involving Jadeja and Samson but also another CSK player. It could be either Matheesha Pathirana or Sam Curran as RR have been very proactive in extracting the most out of this transaction. Names of Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube also came on the discussion table but were rejected by the CSK unit.The next few days could give more clarity on the matter but as of now, the DC deal is off and Samson either goes to CSK or back to the auction pool.