​IPL 2026 update: After Rahul Dravid's exit, are Rajasthan Royals thinking of releasing Sanju Samson to the auctions?

At the end of IPL 2022, sky was the limit for the Rajasthan Royals franchise. They hadn't won the title but making it to the first final in 14 years was in itself a massive jump in fortunes. To add to it, they had unearthed a brilliant young captain in Sanju Samson who was peaking both was a leader and player. Cut to 2025 and the franchise appears to be in shambles in terms of its foundation. 

On Saturday (August 30), Rahul Dravid exited as the franchise's head coach after having joined only a year ago. On the other hand, Samson had already informed the management to look for a potential trade for him, indicating that all is not well between the player and franchise. Dravid's bond with Samson goes back a long way, and the veteran played a big part in getting the Kerala batter into the Royals setup out of nowhere. Given that Samson hadn't started to make waves in the domestic circuit just yet back then. Purely from trials, Dravid spotted Samson's caliber and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Samson's rift with the RR management was evident during IPL 2025 where the team finished at a lowly ninth spot on the points table. Samson himself barely played many games in the season owing to injury, but Riyan Parag's elevation to captaincy with a senior India player Yashasvi Jaiswal in the mix suggested that there were multiple opinions in the RR camp. And that, is never ideal. While Dravid surely didn't have the sole authority in making decisions, him not being able to maintain solidity would have arguably dented Samson's confidence as far as staying on at the Royals is concerned. Perhaps, the duo don't have any personal issues even now. After all, a bond made years ago with such emotion doesn't break overnight. 

However, it is impossible not to imagine that Dravid's exit doesn't have anything to do with Samson's situation at Royals or vice-versa. So, what lies ahead for the 30-year-old batter? Ironically, 2024-25 has been a standout phase for Samson in T20Is, having made the most of the opening spot that he got alongside Abhishek Sharma. Apart from his struggles in the recent England series, Samson was having a blast at the top, taking out bowlers for fun. Not many have three T20I tons in their whole career and here is Samson who has achieved that in the last one year alone. However, with Shubman Gill named vice-captain for the Asia Cup, Samson's spot is under serious danger and he may not make the starting XI as per latest reports. 

What's next for Samson at RR? If inside reports are to be believed, there was a section at RR who felt that he and Dravid should have continued as captain-coach till the end of this cycle. Meanwhile, there was also another opinion floating around Parag's appointment as captain and this allegedly had the backing from some of the top brass as well. The third opinion, a more solid one, was about Jaiswal's captaincy chances and to be fair, the left-hander seemed a deserving candidate with his ascent in international cricket. For Samson, it was evident that an exit was the best way forward. But, how? 

A one-way cash trade deal is the easiest option but as the next auction is a mini-auction, teams currently will find it difficult to give ₹18 crores that is Samson's present salary at the Royals. RR have the option of releasing him on their own, which would be a win-win situation for the franchise as they would be able to free up large volume of funds without directly giving any of their competitors an advantage. If they need Samson, they would have to go for him at the mini-auctions, and the cost could be a lot more for the player then. The third option would be for the Kerala superstar to continue till the end of this cycle, which means IPL 2027. At the moment, the auction route seems the most probable road ahead for Samson.

Samson is currently playing in his state's T20 league, the Kerala Cricket League, where he is part of the Kochi franchise led by his brother Saly Samson.