Robin Uthappa explains why Sanju Samson might leave RR before IPL 2026

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has shared his thoughts on the rumours about Sanju Samson wanting to leave Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of IPL 2026.

Uthappa explained that while Samson opens for India in T20Is, for RR his likely batting position is number four. This is because Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi open the innings, and Riyan Parag prefers to bat at number three. He suggested this might be a key reason behind Samson’s rumoured wish to leave the franchise.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Uthappa said: "They have both Yashasvi, who has done really well for them, and Suryavanshi has absolutely smacked it out of the park, and Riyan Parag likes to bat at number three. Where does that leave Sanju Samson? A number four spot. Would I want to bat at number four when I am opening for India? Absolutely not. From his perspective, he probably felt that perhaps that won't change at RR, and they back their youngsters, quite a bit, don't they?"

"That has been the culture there at RR. So he probably sees it as a writing on the wall, perhaps, and so perhaps, he's trying to get a little bit ahead of the curve a little bit and say, 'let me move now' so that I can go elsewhere and open the batting and still vie for that position at the top of the order in the Indian team. So that's perhaps a small reasoning as well," he added.

The two-time IPL winner also said Samson would still bring great value to any team.

"I think the value that he (Samson) brings to a team is immense. So I think the fact that he, as far as earning not as much money, I don't think that would happen just yet. He'll probably have to have a couple of bad seasons before something like that actually happens. It is very important how the last year before the big auction goes. That is when everyone is like, 'you really need to stack up good performances,' because the next one is the big auction, and you want to be able to augur for a good price at the big auction," Uthappa said.

"Big auctions are the ones that are most important. The year preceding the big auction is the one that is most important. That everyone kind of pays attention to," he added.

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