Sanju Samson will be leaving Rajasthan Royals (RR) and has formally informed the team that he does not wish to play for them anymore. RR had retained Samson at a price of Rs 18 crore prior to the IPL 2025 mega-auction, and now the franchise has the authority to make a decision about releasing him or retaining him. Under normal circumstances, franchises release those players who do not wish to remain. Earlier, IPL has witnessed major player transfers such as Hardik Pandya, Shikhar Dhawan, and Trent Boult. It is highly likely that Samson will shift from RR, but it is still uncertain if the franchise will trade him to a new team or release him prior to IPL 2026 mini-auction. Riyan Parag led the team when Samson was out for a few matches in IPL 2025, and most fans believe he can replace him as a full-time skipper of the side. However, according to reports by RevSportz, Yashasvi Jaiswal is likely to emerge as a favorite to take over the captaincy role if Samson leaves. Also Read | Brand Value of Indian Cricketers in 2025 Yashasvi Jaiswal in Line for RR Captaincy Yashasvi Jaiswal, a consistent in India's Test and T20I sides from the day of his debut, has never led at the senior level. But he has emerged as one of India's top batsmen and is regarded as a future India captain. Captaining RR may push him into that role, just like Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Virat Kohli, and Shubman Gill, all of whom got their leadership experience in the IPL before captaining India. Sanju Samson’s Journey with the Royals Samson initially played for RR in IPL 2013, and his performances in the subsequent two years led to him being called up by the Indian team for the 2014 England series. He made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in 2015. Samson got back to RR at the IPL 2018 mega-auction and became the captain ahead of IPL 2021. With him as captain, RR went to the IPL 2022 final, where they got defeated by the Gujarat Titans. Samson is the sole batter of Rajasthan Royals to have over 4000 IPL runs, with 4027 runs in 149 matches. He has captained the team in 67 games, winning 33.