Rajasthan Royals and Sanju Samson: Trust to tension

Will he, won't he? Will they or won't they?

Sanju Samson and Rajasthan Royals have dominated the trade talk in the IPL of late. Will the player - skipper too - continue with the franchise, whether the Royals will trade him with another player or release him into the action are not straightforward questions. The situation here is layered - there are rules, perspectives and, above all, the crossroads of whether a franchise can hold on to a player who no longer wishes to stay.

There are facts, and then there are complexities. To begin with, it is a fact that serious differences have cropped up between Sanju Samson and the Royals management - so much so that the designated captain has formally requested to be traded or released into the auction.

Members of Samson's family openly say that he no longer wishes to continue with the Royals. Some current IPL and international players close to him also indicate that his relationship with the franchise has not exactly been the way it used to be.

But then, there are rules - and foremost among them is that it cannot be the player's choice. Once a player is signed - whether through retention or auction - he is contractually bound to the franchise for three years. The decision to trade or release him rests solely with the franchise. Technically, contractually and legally, Samson has committed to the Royals for the duration of the current cycle, which runs until the end of the 2027 season.

But this leads to a critical conundrum for the franchise: should they persist with a player who no longer wishes to be part of their setup? More fundamentally, is it worth retaining someone who doesn't want to stay? Franchises always prefer a happy dressing room.

That said, letting go of a marquee player is never easy. Having groomed Samson since his teenage years, the Royals management is actively exploring options. The franchise has reached out to most, if not all, teams to gauge interest in a potential trade. In fact, the feelers have extended even to franchises with established wicketkeeper-batters. There have also been preliminary negotiations with a few of them.

Samson's perspective is not difficult to understand either. As captain, he would have expected the freedom to choose his batting position, and he is known to prefer opening the innings - a role he holds in the India T20 team. However, midway through last season, the Royals unearthed a formidable opening pair in Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, making it difficult to disturb that combination. That may not be the only point of discord between them though.

The Royals and Samson share a long-standing association that dates back to 2013, after his release from the Kolkata Knight Riders. They have been together ever since, barring the two years (2016 and 2017) when the franchise was suspended.

As a teenager, Samson's talent was breathtaking - so much so that Sachin Tendulkar personally requested to meet him after a standout knock in a Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals game. After a former India wicketkeeper facilitated the meeting, Tendulkar is believed to have lauded the youngster's batting prowess.

So what next for the RR-Samson saga? A few franchises have shown interest, but none have offered a trade acceptable to the RR management. Chennai Super Kings have openly expressed interest, but as a matter of policy, they are unwilling to release their players - ruling out a direct trade. Samson is a Rs 18-crore player and an all-cash one-way trade, naturally, is out of order for the RR management.

MS Dhoni and Ruturaj Gaikwad (he has been practising at the franchise's high performance centre for the last one week) are currently in Chennai, and meetings are believed to have taken place among top players and management officials. While it is unclear whether the Samson issue was discussed, CSK officials say their only option may be to try their luck in the auction, if at all.

The situation is similar with other franchises - they have expressed interest but are unable to present a trade that matches Samson's value, experience, stature and skills. The ball is now in the Royals' court to decide how to handle the Samson situation. A franchise spokesperson declined to comment. Cricbuzz has reached out to lead owner Manoj Badale.