"It could be a good thing for their composition" - Aakash Chopra's stunning take on Sanju Samson leaving RR ahead of IPL 2026 auction

Former batter Aakash Chopra opined on Sanju Samson moving out of Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. According to multiple reports, Sanju Samson is set to be traded to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.

Aakash Chopra reckoned that it may not be a bad move for Rajasthan. He stated that Jadeja and Curran's inclusion would add depth and variety to their batting.

"With Sanju Samson going, Rajasthan Royals will not be weak, in fact, it could be a good thing for their composition. There is not much difference in the batting. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, followed by Sam Curran, Jadeja, and Hasaranga. The batting looks fine right? They will miss Sanju's class but there is depth and variety in the batting," he said on his YouTube channel.

The former batter further highlighted that Rajasthan lacked an Indian spinner and all-rounders in the team. Jadeja and Curran coming in would fill both the gaps. They relied on the Sri Lanka spin duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana last season. Aakash Chopra believed that the team could do well even without Samson.

"They did not have an Indian spinner who could bowl four overs, now they have Jaddu. They did not have all-rounders. Now they have not one but two. What more do you want? If they sort out their captain and do not experiment a lot, then this team can do well even after losing Sanju," he added.

The Rajasthan Royals finished ninth in IPL 2025 with just four wins from 14 games.

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Aakash Chopra makes huge claim on MS Dhoni based on Samson's CSK move

Talking about CSK, Aakash Chopra reckoned that the franchise were looking at the future, keeping in mind that veteran MS Dhoni's time in the IPL could come to an end anytime soon.

He reckoned that Sanju Samson would be the long-term solution, being a wicketkeeper-batter who can also captain the side in the future. Further, he made a massive claim, stating that MS Dhoni may not be seen playing all the matches in Samson's presence.

"I think CSK are looking to be future-ready as MS will not play forever. They like experience. They wanted someone like Sanju. They did have Urvil Patel and he was doing well but he is not their long-term solution or Dhoni replacement. I don't know if anyone can replace Dhoni though. I feel Dhoni may not play all the games this season. With Sanju's addition, I feel we will see Dhoni not playing all the matches this year itself," he said.

Last season, following persistent knee issues, Dhoni batted lower down the order and could not deliver as expected with the bat. He managed just 196 runs from 13 innings at an average of 24.50 and a strike-rate of 135.17.

CSK had their worst-ever season in the history of the league. They finished at the very bottom of the table.