Sanju Samson-Ravindra Jadeja's IPL Trade Deal Between CSK-RR to be Delayed. Here's Why

IPL 2026: The ambitious Sanju Samson-Ravindra Jadeja deal between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, which was supposed to get inked in 48 hours - has been stalled for the moment. The hiccup in the trade is not because of Jadeja or Samson, it is because of Sam Curran, who is an overseas player. The deal was that Samson would head to Chennai and Rajasthan would get Jadeja and Curran. 

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Why The Delay? 

The complication now is that Rajasthan already have eight overseas players in their team. The eight overseas players are Jofra Archer, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger, and Lhuan-dre Pretorius. Apart from this, they have 14 Indian players. Now, the IPL rule does not permit a team to have more than eight overseas players and that is where the delay is taking place. 

This is not the only problem Rajasthan is facing, money has also become a factor now ahead of the auction. The Royals only have Rs 30 lakh left in their purse. For the unversed, Royals have a total of 22 players where they can have a maximum of 25. The only option left with the Royals at the moment is to release an overseas player who costs more than Rs 2.4 Cr as that is Curran's auction value. 

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Who Can The Royals Release? 

It is clear the Royals need to release an overseas player to get Curran onboard. Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga earns Rs 5.25 Cr, while his compatriot Maheesh Theekshana earns Rs 4.4 Cr. The hunch is that one of the two players have to be released for the RR-CSK blockbuster deal to actually happen.