He emphasised that KKR might release Venkatesh Iyer to free up the required funds and that the team needs an Indian wicketkeeper-batter and a possible captain. If the Rajasthan Royals (RR) opt to release Sanju Samson, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has hinted that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) may be the team most interested in signing him.
Samson reportedly asked RR to release him before the IPL 2026 auction. After releasing Phil Salt to Royal Challengers Bengaluru prior to the 2025 season, the three-time winners were left without a known Indian wicketkeeper-batter and had to rely on Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz to fill the position.
“CSK is not the first name that springs to mind. The most desperate team ought to be KKR. The fact that KKR lacks an Indian wicketkeeper-batter only makes things more difficult for them. Second, if you get a captain, what’s wrong? “I don’t dispute that Ajinkya Rahane has performed admirably as a captain and scored runs,” Chopra stated on his YouTube channel.
However, Ajinkya Rahane has been a bit of a challenge as a batter, either opening or otherwise. They can also release one of their players.
If they want to, they can free up over ₹24 crore and release Venkatesh Iyer, after which they can truly make a difference,” he continued.
Jos Buttler was released prior to the IPL 2025 auction to make place for Samson as RR’s skipper at the top of the order, therefore Chopra questioned why Samson would want to leave the Rajasthan-based team.
“What would motivate Sanju Samson to depart? It’s odd because they let Jos Buttler go at the last big auction, and I thought that was because Sanju wanted to open and Yashasvi had arrived, and Sanju and the Rajasthan Royals were very close,” Chopra added.
Sanju Samson might quit RR because of Suryavanshi’s ascent: Chopra
For those who are not familiar, Samson has played for RR since his IPL debut in 2013, and the two years he did not play for the team were during their 2016 and 2017 bans. However, Chopra thinks Samson might have thought about leaving the team once Vaibhav Suryavanshi emerged as Yashasvi Jaiswal’s opening partner.
“I believed Sanju would have had a significant influence on the players they kept or let go. Now, though, it appears that it might not have existed. Two openers are prepared now that Vaibhav Suryavanshi has arrived, and you should bat Dhruv Jurel higher in the order. Sanju therefore wants to go. It is conceivable if that is his way of thinking. These are theories. “I’m not sure what’s going through his and Rajasthan’s minds,” Chopra said.
However, if the rumours are to be believed, the Jaipur-based team is not eager to move Samson in an all-cash transaction and is searching for comparable alternatives.
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