“Not just CSK and DC” – Ashwin claims Punjab Kings also chased Sanju Samson in IPL trade talks
Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that Punjab Kings also attempted to trade for Sanju Samson before IPL 2026, but the deal collapsed, leaving Chennai Super Kings as the frontrunners to secure the Rajasthan Royals skipper.
The continuous IPL 2026 trading saga, which involves the Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson, has developed further, as noted by veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin stating the Punjab Kings (PBKS) were also in the mix. In addition to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Delhi Capitals (DC), who have already been reported to have interest in signing the star wicketkeeper-batter, Ashwin confirmed that PBKS had contacted the Royals with a lucrative trade offer.
According to Ashwin, the Royals had a clear demand — they wanted a finisher and a bowler in exchange for Samson. The Punjab Kings then offered Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis as a part of the potential trade, who then would have fit into RR's request for a player that could do both bat and bowl well. But Ashwin did not confirm which bowler Punjab Kings offered along with Stoinis. Reportedly, Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, or even another uncapped Pacers could have been discussed in this swap as well.
In spite of the early negotiations, the trade between RR and PBKS never went through. The Punjab-based franchise reportedly did not have any players whose trade value could adequately fill the void left by the size of a swap for Samson. Other than Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh, they had a dead end in terms of trade value. As it stands, CSK are therefore in the best situation to possibly acquire Samson before the 2026 IPL season.
CSK are still favoured to land Samson in blockbuster trade.
While PBKS did not go through with the trade, CSK have a lot of momentum towards acquiring Sanju Samson. The five-time champions reportedly included Ravindra Jadeja as it seems to have a lot of traction, potentially bringing in either Sam Curran or Matheesha Pathirana to be part of the trade value.
If the deal passes all predicated thresholds, it seems money-wise it is a very even and fair trade. Samson’s IPL contract is INR 18 crore, while the two players are in the ballpark of INR 20.40 crore combined on their salaries. If the trade is successful, RR will strengthen their all-around core, while CSK could possibly add a dynamic wicketkeeper-batter to their batting top order, and thereby create one of the biggest trades in IPL history.
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