Indian wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson, who has been the talk of the town and the IPL trade window as well, celebrated his 31st birthday yesterday and received several wishes on social media. Not only his fans but also the teams he plays for had congratulated him, with one team standing in exception.
The Indian wicket-keeper had a rocking season last year in international as well as domestic cricket. Samson in 2024 looked flawless as he smacked three T20I hundreds for India in a single calendar year, and then before that had his finest IPL season with 500+ runs for the first time.
However, his run with the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025 looked sceptical, with the Royals keeping him out of many games and the slightest of injuries being used as a cover to bench him. By the end of the season, they looked convinced with the new opener, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and also the rising young Captain Riyan Parag.
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Sanju Samson indicates not liking the CSK move with a cryptic Instagram story on his Birthday
On the 11th of November, Sanju Samson, the Kerala-born cricketer, celebrated his 31st Birthday and received a shower of good wishes from his family, fans, loved ones, and all cricket communities.
The two teams in the IPL who are associated with Samson as of now, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, each dropped a social media post regarding the Indian star with best wishes.
However, what caught the attention of many on social media was that Sanju himself mentioned the Rajasthan Royals and the Indian Cricket Team posts in his story on Instagram, but left out the one from CSK.
Just saying :-
Sanju has kept RR’s and ICT’s post in his story and not CSK 😭 pic.twitter.com/33wpN7xvW1— Grok7_CSK💛 (@Grok7CSK) November 11, 2025
Sanju Samson’s deal struck a blow by RR’s lack of an overseas slot
The Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja swap deal between the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals has seen a major dip in its advancement in the form of England all-rounder Sam Curran, who is also a part of the deal.
Rajasthan Royals do not have any of their overseas slots left, as they have filled in with all 8 players; however, they did not even make all of these players play a game each in the previous season. With many useless pacers in the side, they might release some to fit in Curran, but it has another major hindrance.
The Jadeja-Samson deal is a clean swap with no monetary involvement, but Sam Curran is an all-cash deal with the CSK. The English all-rounder is priced at INR 2.4 crores, and the Royals have only 30 lakh in theirs, so they need to release a player worth over 2 crores to have Curran on their side.
Where would Sanju Samson play in the CSK XI?
If Sanju Samson’s move to CSK gets finalized, it is most likely that he will be opening the innings alongside Ayush Mhatre, and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad will be coming in at no. 3. Gaikwad has played several fine innings in that position as well.
With Samson being the most effective only while opening the innings and young Mhatre, a dynamic youngster now exploring real chances, it is most likely for the skipper to step down. Under such conditions, if Rachin Ravindra stars in the CSK lineup, he would be slotted in at no. 4 in the middle order.
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