"Probably sees it as writing on the wall"- 2-time IPL winner reacts to reports of Sanju Samson wanting to leave RR ahead of IPL 2026

Two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winner Robin Uthappa has reacted to reports of Sanju Samson wanting to leave Rajasthan Royals (RR). He questioned whether the batter would be okay to bat at number four for his franchise and open the batting for India. The 39-year-old feels that Samson possibly understands he can't get a spot at the top of the order.

RR have the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and Riyan Parag occupying those places. Uthappa added that the 30-year-old is possibly being a bit ahead of the curve by trying to move on from the inaugural IPL champions. He said on his YouTube channel:

"They have both Yashasvi, who has done really well for them, and Suryavanshi has absolutely smacked it out of the park, and Riyan Parag likes to bat at number three. Where does that leave Sanju Samson? A number four spot. Would I want to bat at number four when I am opening for India? Absolutely not. From his perspective, he probably felt that perhaps that won't change at RR, and they back their youngsters, quite a bit, don't they?"

"That has been the culture there at RR. So he probably sees it as a writing on the wall, perhaps, and so perhaps, he's trying to get a little bit ahead of the curve a little bit and say, 'let me move now' so that I can go elsewhere and open the batting and still vie for that position at the top of the order in the Indian team. So that's perhaps a small reasoning as well".

The two-time IPL winner feels that Samson still brings a lot of value to any side. He admitted that he would need to have a few bad seasons for his valuation in the league to nosedive from the current number.

"I think the value that he (Samson) brings to a team is immense. So I think the fact that he, as far as earning not as much money, I don't think that would happen just yet. He'll probably have to have a couple of bad seasons before something like that actually happens. It is very important how the last year before the big auction goes. That is when everyone is like, 'you really need to stack up good performances,' because the next one is the big auction, and you want to be able to augur for a good price at the big auction."

"Big auctions are the ones that are most important. The year preceding the big auction is the one that is most important. That everyone kind of pays attention to," the former India batter said.

Reports emerged on Thursday that Samson had formally made a request to RR to either trade or release him from the franchise. He featured in only nine out of the 14 league matches in IPL 2025.

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Robin Uthappa feels CSK is the most obvious destination for Sanju Samson

Former India batter Robin Uthappa feels that if Sanju Samson has to leave RR, then the most obvious destination for him is Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The 39-year-old said that the move would do a lot of good for him and the five-time champions. He said:

"CSK for sure. If they are able to get him and if they are able to snap him up, then it'll do really well for him. I think the transition of MS Dhoni to the next wicketkeeper, they already have in Sanju, so that is already taken care of. Otherwise, they would have to look at, say, at this point, say Devon Conway as a wicketkeeping option. But if he comes onboard, there is a lot of good that can happen for CSK".

Uthappa feels that a trade involving Ravichandran Ashwin and Vijay Shankar might work well for RR if they were to send Samson to CSK. The former India off-spinner played three seasons for RR, finishing runners-up in the 2022 IPL. He said:

"What they don't have? They only have Shimron Hetmyer at six. They don't have a finisher at number six or seven. Maybe Sam Curran. Vijay Shankar could be the one who goes with Ashwin as well. That could happen. He's a pretty decent bowler, but they haven't utilised him."

"I think perhaps Rajasthan also feel Sanju doesn't want to be there anymore, so if a player doesn't want to be there, why do we have to keep him? Give him what he wants. In that sense, I think it makes sense for them," Uthappa said.

Meanwhile, former India and CSK batter S Badrinath feels that bringing Samson into the CSK fold could create confusion for the franchise. He added that while Ashwin added value to the five-time champions, it wasn't at the price tag of nearly Rs 10 crore.