Former Indian batter Subramaniyan Badrinath believes that Riyan Parag is the main reason behind Sanju Samson potentially asking the Rajasthan Royals to release him ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction.

The Rajasthan skipper has asked the franchise to trade or release him for the auction ahead of the next edition of the tournament. However, a final call is yet to be taken by the management and head coach Rahul Dravid.

Sanju Samson had featured in limited games in the 2025 season after he wasn’t given clearance for wicketkeeping by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). When Samson has played justed as a batter, it was Riyan Parag who did the captaincy.

After being named as the captain, he once again got injured with a side strain against the Delhi Capitals. When he was ruled out, parag once against filled in as the captain.

Amid this captaincy saga, there were reports of a rumoured rift between head coach Dravid and Samson. However, the former denied all speculations midway through the season.

Samson’s absence has also provided chance to 14-year old Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The youngster grabbed the opportunity with both hands, smashing the fastest century by an Indian in the tournament.

With opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryavanshi but settled, there is no clarity over Samson’s position, and this is what Samson to think about moving away from the Royals.

“I feel Riyan Parag is the reason. If you consider him for captaincy, how do you expect someone like Samson to stay?,” said Badrinath.

Rumours are rife that Sanju Samson will move to Chennai Super Kings after they showed interest in acquiring the wk-batter.

Badrinath believes Sanju Samson is the right fit to replace MS Dhoni at the franchise. However, he pointed out the right handed batter might not be able to bat lower down the order to CSK.

“If Sanju Samson does come to CSK, then he could be the like-for-like replacement for MS Dhoni. Samson is a batter who can bat in the top three or four spots in the batting order.”

“He is not someone who could fit in the number five or six spot in the playing XI. CSK are strong in those areas of the playing XI. Mhatre is settled, Gaikwad is settled, Brevis is settled,” he said.

“I am not sure if CSK would do a transaction like MI did to get Hardik Pandya from GT. So even if Sanju Samson comes in, the question remains whether CSK can fit him into the playing XI,” Badrinath added.