Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has shared his insights on Sanju Samson‘s reported intention to depart from Rajasthan Royals (RR) before the IPL 2026 auction. He suggests that the emergence of young opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi might have influenced this decision.There have been rumours that Samson has requested RR to release him. This has led to discussions about his potential future team affiliations.
“Why would Sanju Samson want to leave? It’s interesting because when the last mega auction happened, they let Jos Buttler go, and I felt they let Jos Buttler go because Yashasvi had come and Sanju wanted to open, and Sanju and Rajasthan Royals were really, really thick,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
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Do you think Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s arrival could be influencing Samson’s decision to leave?
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Chopra believes the arrival of Vaibhav Suryavanshi could have altered the team’s dynamics.“I felt there would have been a massive input from Sanju in the players they retained or released. However, now it seems it might not have been there. Vaibhav Suryavanshi has come, so two openers are already ready, and you also want to bat Dhruv Jurel up the order. So Sanju wishes to leave. If he is thinking like that, it’s possible. These are conjectures. I don’t know what’s in his and Rajasthan’s minds,” he added.In IPL 2025, Samson scored 285 runs with a strike rate of 140.39 in nine innings. Suryavanshi made an impressive debut with 252 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 206.55, including the fastest IPL century by an Indian.Chopra suggests Kolkata Knight Riders as the most likely destination for Samson.“The first name that comes to my mind is not CSK. KKR should be the most desperate team. KKR don’t have an Indian wicketkeeper-batter, and that just ties their hands behind their back. Secondly, what’s wrong if you get a captain? I am not denying that Ajinkya Rahane has captained well and has scored runs as well.”During IPL 2025, KKR relied on overseas wicketkeepers Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Samson’s dual role as an Indian wicketkeeper and potential captain could address these needs for KKR.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source timesofindia.indiatimes.com ’
