The trade that left everyone 'slightly unhappy'

Kumar Sangakkara understands cricket and what makes a good trade. "The best trade is where both sides are happy, but also slightly unhappy," he says. This explains the biggest trade in IPL history: Rajasthan Royals sending Sanju Samson to Chennai Super Kings for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.

The merits were obvious, but it was difficult to assess who got the favourable hand—a confusion likely settled by Samson's role in India's World Cup win. In bringing back their original 'rockstar', the Royals let go of their biggest face, a player they had invested in for nearly a decade.

Star figures don't come easy. It's visible in the Royals' in-stadia branding—posters with sets of three players. Those players could be anyone: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Jofra Archer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, or Vaibhav Suryavanshi. While there are many posterboys, no single star has cemented himself at the centre. Quite a few take turns in the spotlight.

This revolving door isn't like Mumbai Indians, with Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah. For the Royals, it's the consequence of not having a definitive figure for fans and brands to rally behind. It's ironic that a team labelled the 'royals' is still unsure of its king. That big figure has been absent so long that they've embraced theories like 'moneyball' and 'investing in youth' over cricketing figures to sell their brand.

When the retention list was submitted for the 2025 IPL mega auctions, there was no place for Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, R Ashwin, or Yuzvendra Chahal—all core players in the Royals' charge to the final and a third-place finish in the last three-year cycle. The bet was placed on an unusual list: Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

As one coach said last season, validating Vaibhav Suryavanshi's century: "We don't create stars, we make them." It fits the Royals' narrative—the youth story that has served as their best defense against the absence of trophies and players who regularly feature for the national team.

Ahead of their opening game of IPL 2026, head coach Kumar Sangakkara wanted to put that theory to rest. "Just before the big auction in 2022 we changed our mindset," he admitted. "Before that, the Rajasthan Royals had to be a little creative in selecting their squads; they hadn't really spent a full purse at the auction. At the end of the 2021 season, it was time to reset. We started looking at not just backing young talent but backing proper talent and ability."

He explained the 2022 structure: "We had a lot of experience. We had Yuzi, Ashwin, Hetmyer, Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, and we were led by Sanju Samson. We changed our philosophy, started looking after our players year-round, improved scouting and analytics. That set us on a journey to becoming a better, more consistent side."

"While doing that, we keep an eye out for great young players. In 2022 or 2023, one of our analysts, Akshay Karanje, told us about an amazing young player called Vaibhav Suryavanshi. We identified him because of changes in our analysts, scouting, and investment in time. Anyone who sees Vaibhav for five minutes knows it's not just talent, it's absolute ability."

"We look at experience, we look at ability, and if we have space for amazing talent we feel we can develop in a one or two-year period, we'll do that. It's not just about being young; it's about having ability and enough options to ensure they can play at any time. We don't look at whether he'll be better in six years anymore; we look at a very small time period now."

Despite tactical changes, the average age of their top five could be under 24. Yet, that takes little away from their combined ability and threat. Despite a combined age of only 39, Jaiswal and Suryavanshi could be the most explosive opening pair in the competition.

Big star figures may be absent, but it isn't the worst thing in a team sport. If latest valuations are anything to go by—Rajasthan Royals bought at USD 1.63 billion compared to RCB (with a WPL franchise and the biggest star in world cricket) at USD 1.78 billion—the absence of a star figure seems to have had little impact on sales figures, even if annual revenues could provide an economic differentiator.

One outcome of letting Samson leave, apart from the void at the top order, was filling the leadership position. Five candidates were interviewed: Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Sandeep Sharma. Parag was chosen as the heir.

Parag is the Royals' biggest investment. He has been with the franchise since his debut and got an incredibly long rope when he was far from delivering—the kind no other player in another franchise enjoyed. A promotion in the batting order in 2024 and a flurry of runs changed his standing. Still only 24, he is the youngest captain in this year's tournament, with experience leading the side in Samson's injury absence last season.

He isn't the perfect candidate, but the best they could find, according to Sangakkara. "We had very strict parameters," the head coach confessed. "We had lots of conversations with all five candidates, not just once, but twice, thrice, sometimes four times. We realised all five are very capable of captaining RR. Riyan came across as a top candidate because in all his conversations he seemed to have matured quite a lot; he was very reflective in answering all the questions, and the questions were very tough and targeted."

"By having those conversations, we got to understand those five candidates a lot more, especially Riyan with his maturity, how he reflected, what his vision was for the side, and how he wanted to not just captain but also lead the team. It made him the leading candidate."

"We look at maturity, the ability to reflect on themselves not just others, the ability to think critically, how authentic they are in their answers, how they can influence others around them—not just young players but also more senior players. We also ask really tough questions about their personal experiences in cricket away from the field, the ups and downs of playing cricket and in their own lives."

"One question was: if you are not the captain, what would your attitude and support be towards not just the person who is going to captain but the team? It's a simple question but it sets a line in the sand where you have to think about the fact that yes, you might not be captain. We learnt a lot about the players through that process."

"We just want to get a feel for who they are and how they will be through a tough IPL season. We are not looking to make the perfect choice; we are trying to make the best choice—no captain or leader is perfect. I have been a captain; I know how many mistakes I have made along the way. That is absolutely fine; that is how you learn."

"Riyan is going to have a lot of support. Jadeja, Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Sandeep Sharma, we have Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Dasan Sharma. He has got a lot of people he can lean on in tough times and good times, and they are all very invested in making sure they are part of the leadership and do their best."

Most IPL teams that endure long stretches without a trophy often see chaos in leadership. Rajasthan Royals have been fairly stable. Now, they have a new homegrown successor, shaped and honed, just like Samson.

The big trade involving Samson almost took the spotlight from other changes in their quest for their first IPL title since 2008. It could be argued they got a favourable deal when they roped in Donovan Ferreira—a highly-rated all-rounder in the T20 circuit—for Nitish Rana from Delhi Capitals. However, Sangakkara confessed it was a decision taken out of necessity to balance the side and improve areas that let the team down last season despite prolific scoring by the top order.

"We had a middle order issue in terms of how we kept the tempo going, how we stayed ahead of the game, and how we have to be a little bit smarter in the way we approach spin and scoring through the middle. We had to improve a bit at the depth as well, so we had to do trades. We had to trade Nitish Rana. It is difficult to trade a very good Indian player, but we were left with no choice. We had to have that death-hitting ability. So we have Donovan now, and we have Shanaka coming in to bolster that back order if needed."

Sangakkara is hopeful the alterations made to the side, and the inputs given to players after last season, will yield the desired result with largely the same core.

"We have had conversations with our players after last season about areas they have to improve. You can be the best player in the world, but you still have to be very realistic about what you need to do when you come into an IPL side. So we have had those chats. They were very open to that feedback, and they have done a lot of work on the offensive in and off-season. They have done a lot of work in the last two weeks, so you never know until you start playing."

Stripped of their biggest star, burdened with a young captain, and with new owners in tow—are they starting on a happy note or not? Perhaps the best deals in cricket often leave that conundrum.

"To be very honest, we were extremely sad to see Sanju go," Sangakkara admitted. "He has been an incredible player for us, a leader, a captain. I have got to know him very closely over the last few years, but it was inevitable that was going to happen. I thought we got two very, very good players: one an incredible legend of the game in Jaddu, and Sam Curran, who has matured a lot. They balance out our squad really well. Unfortunately, Sam had to pull out because of injury."

"For them [CSK], they wanted the next-generation leader, a 'keeper, and a wonderful bat. So I think both sides have walked away unhappy. That means it was a good trade for both sides," he concluded with a smile.