संजू समसन के लिए फ्रेंचाइजी की दिलचस्पी चेन्नई सुपर किंग्स से परे है

Franchise interest in Sanju Samson extends beyond CSK

The growing chatter linking Sanju Samson with Chennai Super Kings appears to have substance beyond social media speculation. Cricbuzz can confirm that the CSK franchise is open to welcoming the batter-keeper in their fold. But so are a few other teams.

While confirming interest in Samson, a senior CSK official told Cricbuzz that no formal communication has yet been initiated with the Rajasthan Royals' management.

"We are definitely looking at Sanju. He is an Indian batter, who is a keeper and an opener. So if he is available, we will certainly have a look at the option of having him in our fold. Who we will trade him with we have not taken that call because the matter has not gone that far. But yes, in principle, we are interested," the CSK official, involved in the decision-making process, told this website on the condition of anonymity.

The real million-dollar dilemma will be deciding which player to offer in return. Samson was the No 1 retention of Royals at a value of Rs 18 crore. A potential like-for-like trade-off could involve skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad himself, whose retention price also stands at Rs 18 crore. However, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming has publicly reiterated on multiple occasions that Gaikwad was appointed captain with a long-term vision in mind.

In the history of the IPL, there are not too many instances of CSK invoking a trade. The notable trade that the franchise had was taking Robin Uthappa from Rajasthan Royals ahead of the 2021 season. It was a one-way all-cash trade.

The trading window is currently open and it has to be seen if CSK will make a formal approach to the RR management but there are strong speculations that apart from CSK, a couple of other teams too have approached the Royals for Samson.

The Royals management, meanwhile, completed a review meeting of the IPL 18 season last week in London, where head coach Rahul Dravid was also present. It is understood it took note of the requests from multiple franchises for multiple players, not just for Samson. An Indian keeper-batter who can bat in top-6 is a premium asset in an IPL setup and the Royals management is conscious of the fact that it sits on two such assets in their ranks – Dhruv Jurel besides Samson.

It is unlikely a trade deal will be reached anytime soon and should that happen at all, it can only be for a player who can be deemed a worthy replacement. RR lead owner Manoj Badale will, apparently, take a call on the approaches.