Sanju Samson ends Rajasthan Royals era, chasing dream to be 'around MS Dhoni' at Chennai Super Kings

Taking to social media, Samson reflected on his time with Rajasthan, stating he gave the franchise his all but felt it was the right “time” to move on.

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“We are only here for a short period of time,” he wrote on Instagram. “Gave MY everything to this franchise, enjoyed some great cricket, made some lifetime relations, treated everyone in the franchise as my family..And when its time..I AM moving On..Shall always be grateful for everything @rajasthanroyals.”

As per an official league statement, Samson will join CSK for the next season at his existing price of ₹18 crore. As part of the agreement, Jadeja’s league fee was revised from ₹18 crore to ₹14 crore, while Curran will move to RR at his existing price of ₹2.4 crore.

Samson had been the face of the Rajasthan Royals for over a decade, representing the franchise across 11 seasons. After joining in 2013, he quickly became a key player and was retained ahead of the 2014 auction at just 19 years of age. During his tenure, he amassed 4,027 runs for RR, led them to the final in 2022, and recorded a career-best season of 531 runs in 2024.

‘I wanted to be around MS Dhoni’

Samson also shared his dream of being close to veteran Indian cricketer MS Dhoni.

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“As every young Indian cricketer, I wanted to be around MS Dhoni. Every single time you meet him, every single time you know that you’re going to play against CSK, it’s like you want to sit with Mahi bhai, talk to him, understand how he does things. Even just sitting around him was a dream as a young cricketer,” Samson said in a video posted by Star Sports on X.

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