Sanju Samson requests Rajasthan Royals to release him ahead of IPL 2026 Auction

In an interesting turn of events, the Rajasthan Royals captain, Sanju Samson, has requested the franchise, owned by Manoj Badale, to release him ahead of the IPL 2026 Auction, scheduled to take place later this year.

Notably, Samson has been part of the Royals’ setup from IPL 2013 and 2015 before rejoining them in 2018 after playing for two years with the Delhi Daredevils franchise (Now Delhi Capitals). After being appointed as RR captain in IPL 2021, he led the franchise to the IPL final in 2022 for the first time since winning the title in the inaugural season of IPL 2008.

However, the franchise suffered massively after the release of star players like Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal, the orange and purple cap holders in 2022, ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction.

Though the discussions are still going on, it’s up to the franchise and the player to either move to the auction or be involved in a trade deal with any of the other nine franchises in an all-cash deal.

Samson, who played only nine out of 14 games in IPL 2025 due to a side strain, was retained ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction for a whopping price of INR 18 Crore by the Royals setup.  Yashasvi Jaiswal, Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Sandeep Sharma, and Shimron Hetmyer were the other players to be retained.

While Samson is currently at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for a routine training programme designed for a targeted pool of players shortlisted by the national selectors, he is expected to be part of the Asia Cup squad. 

Prior to that, Samson is also set to play Kerala Cricket League after being roped in by the Kochi Blue Tigers franchise for INR 26.8 Lakh, emerging as the most expensive player in the auction.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at Sky365 and download the Sky365 App to start betting today!