Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson made headlines over his potential exit from the franchise. Samson didn’t have the best of a time during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign, which also saw him miss a few games due to injury and play some as an Impact Player as well. Though the player retention deadline for the next season is far away, Samson has reportedly asked the RR franchise bosses to leave ahead of the auction for the 2026 season.

And, India’s 1983 World Cup-winner, Kris Srikkanth, opined on the rumours of a possible ‘rift’ between Samson and Dravid, saying on his YouTube channel, “Going by the reports, there seems to be a rift between him and Rahul Dravid, but I am not fully aware. Look at it from a franchise point of view. They have paid him a certain amount and retained him. They have formed the team around him. All of a sudden, if you release him, what happens to the team balance? They haven’t won the IPL since 2008.”

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“They have reached the final after that. I don’t think I would let go of Sanju Samson. If they want to promote Riyan Parag as captain, that is their choice. I would still play Samson as a batter. He’s been paid INR 18 crore,” he further added.

In an interview, Sanju Samson was asked by Ravichandran Ashwin about his relationship with the RR franchise. Samson answered the question well.

“RR has meant the world to me. A small child coming from a village in Kerala, wanting to show his talent. And then Rahul (Dravid) sir and Manoj Badale sir gave me a stage to get up and show the world what I am made of,” Samson told R Ashwin in his YouTube show. “That time, they trusted me throughout. The journey with RR has been really great, and I’m very grateful to have been in a franchise like that. It really means a lot to me.”