Sanju Samson sealed potentially the biggest trade in IPL history. The Kerala superstar joins Chennai Super Kings in a blockbuster deal that sees Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran move in the opposite direction.
BCCI officially confirmed the trade on Saturday morning. Sanju welcome the development with an Instagram post, sporting a yellow top and a wrist band. He simply wrote 'Vanakkam' which means 'Welcome' in Tamil, with the post instantly going viral on social media.
Samson had been the face of Rajasthan Royals for more than a decade, representing the franchise in 11 seasons. Having joined RR in 2013, he quickly became one of their key players and was retained ahead of the 2014 season, at just 19 years old.
After RR's two-year suspension (2016-17), Samson returned in 2018 and took over the captaincy in 2021. Under his leadership and with the guidance of team director Kumar Sangakkara, RR reached the IPL final in 2022, their first appearance since winning the inaugural edition in 2008.
Samson led the team in 67 matches, winning and losing 33 each. He is RR's top run-getter across the IPL and Champions League T20, with 4,219 runs in 155 matches and 150 innings at an average of 31.96, strike rate of above 140, with two centuries and 26 innings.
