Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson (PTI Photo) Sanju Samson (PTI Photo/Arun Sharma) Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson (PTI Photo) Sanju Samson (PTI Photo/Arun Sharma) Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson (PTI Photo) Former South African cricketer Faf du Plessis has weighed in on Rajasthan Royals’ decision to part ways with their long-time star and face of the franchise Sanju Samson ahead of IPL 2026. Samson, who represented the Royals for over a decade in 11 seasons, has been traded to five-time champions and yellow jersey Chennai in the upcoming Super King season.In return, Rajasthan Royals secured England all-rounder Sam Curran and veteran Ravindra Jadeja from CSK. In an interview with JioHotstar, du Plessis highlighted the importance of Samson not only as a player but also as a central figure to the Royals’ identity in the IPL.
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Ajit Agarkar is knocking on BCCI’s door asking for a huge extension | World Cup “When we look at the IPL, all the iconic franchises have one Indian player who defines the team – Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli. For me it was Rajasthan Royals’ Sanju Samson,” said du Plessis.He added: “Yes, he is from a newer generation but he has become the face of the franchise. His loss is a huge thing – for the fans, the IPL and the tournament itself – because he played a key role there.”Du Plessis also highlighted how Samson’s departure will shift more responsibility to Yashasvi Jaiswal, who earlier benefited from having a seasoned and consistent performer like Samson in the line-up.“With Sanju Samson providing such consistent runs over the years, Yashasvi was free to play and express his natural game,” explained du Plessis. “Now that that support is gone, there’s going to be more responsibility on him. You don’t want a young player to have that weight clouding his thinking. He should be thinking, ‘I want to get into the game. I want to hit as many sixes as possible’.”He added: “This season will be a learning curve for him – figuring out whether he stays true to his natural attacking style or steps into a senior role to carry most of the runs. I’m sure he’ll continue to play aggressively because that’s the player he is. It would be silly for him to do otherwise.”Samson’s contributions to the Royals are historic. In 155 T20 matches, he scored 4,219 runs at an average of 31.96 and a strike rate of 140.53, making him not only the team’s leading run-scorer but also the player with the most matches in the franchise’s history.Rajasthan Royals, now led by Riyan Parag, will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Samson’s new team, Chennai Super Kings, in Guwahati on March 30.
