The trade window is now open for the upcoming IPL season, and there were speculations that Rajasthan Royals' skipper Sanju Samson requested a formal exit from the team, as reported by Cricbuzz on Thursday.
However, the team either didn’t react much to this, as they went ahead to be normal on their social media game, as they recently shared the Dhruv Jurel captaincy appointment for the Central Zone, as the 23-year-old will lead the team in the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
Also read: Sanju Samson to CSK for IPL 2026? Rajasthan Royals Want Two Players in Return - Report
Advertisement
Samson-CSK Speculation Grows as Jurel’s Rise Adds Twist to Royals' Plans
The Sanju Samson trade saga has been going on for months, as it was first rumoured that the wicketkeeper-batter wants to make a move to Chennai Super Kings for the upcoming season. This move was speculated when he was spotted practicing at the CSK Academy in Texas, US.
Meanwhile, the speculation became stronger when Sanju Samson followed CSK on Instagram, and as time went on, it was almost confirmed that Sanju Samson had completed the move to CSK. However, to shut down, two days ago, TOI reported that Rajasthan Royals have no intention of letting Sanju Samson go, as they wanted him to lead their team for the upcoming season.
But yesterday, the landscape completely changed as Cricbuzz reported that the 30-year-old wants to leave the franchise, as he requested them to trade or release him for the mini-auction.
Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel, who recently had a fantastic stint behind the stumps in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, had to keep wickets to replace Rishabh Pant, who suffered injuries during the series.
Advertisement
Dhruv Jurel was then given the chance to start in the playing XI for the 5th Test. He did a good job with the bat, while his wicketkeeping skills contributed significantly, as his catching was sharp, which helped India to defeat England by 6 runs to level the series 2-2. The 23-year-old was praised for his selflessness, contributing to the team when needed.
Also read: No Duleep Trophy for Sanju Samson as Selection Favors Consistent and Commited Performers
RR Celebrate Dhruv Jurel’s Duleep Trophy Captaincy with Cryptic Post
Dhruv Jurel finally gets his well-deserved stint to lead Central Zone for the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2025. To celebrate this, Rajasthan Royals posted an Instagram post with a caption: “There will be someone who can change the game behind the stumps.”
This post from them received comments, especially asking about Sanju Samson’s situation, as fans were unclear whether Sanju Samson would be a Royal for the upcoming season or not.
Central Zone Squad Led by Dhruv Jurel
Dhruv Jurel (c, wk), Rajat Patidar (vc - subject to fitness clearance), Aryan Juyal, Danesh Malewar, Sanjeet Desai, Kuldeep Yadav, Aditya Thakre, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pandey, Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed
Also read: DPL 2025: Nitish Rana loses his cool, fights with umpire in the middle of match
