Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has said that the KKR might be the most desperate to acquire Sanju Samson if the Rajasthan Royals (RR) release him. He added that the KKR needs an Indian wicketkeeper-batter and a potential captain as well. They can release Venkatesh Iyer, if they wish, to make the required budget as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “The first name that comes to my mind is not CSK. KKR should be the most desperate team. KKR don’t have an Indian wicketkeeper-batter, and that just ties their hands behind their back. Secondly, what’s wrong if you get a captain? I am not denying that Ajinkya Rahane has captained well and has scored runs as well. However, Ajinkya Rahane as a batter, either he opens or else the batting order has been a bit of a problem. They have a player they can release as well. If they wish, they can release Venkatesh Iyer, free up nearly ₹24 crore, and then they can actually make a difference.”

However, Aakash Chopra also wondered why Sanju Samson would want to leave the Rajasthan Royals, saying that Jos Buttler was potentially released before the IPL 2025 auction to make a place for the RR captain at the top of the order as well.

“Why would Sanju Samson want to leave? It’s interesting because when the last mega auction happened, they let Jos Buttler go, and I felt they let Jos Buttler go because Yashasvi had come and Sanju wanted to open, and Sanju and Rajasthan Royals were really, really thick,” he said.

“I felt there would have been a massive input from Sanju in the players they retained or released. However, now it seems it might not have been there. Vaibhav Suryavanshi has come, so two openers are already ready, and you also want to bat Dhruv Jurel up the order. So Sanju wishes to leave. If he is thinking like that, it’s possible. These are conjectures. I don’t know what’s in his and Rajasthan’s minds,” Aakash Chopra concluded.