Amid the swirling speculation around the much-anticipated IPL trade negotiations between the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals, where the five-time champions are set to acquire Sanju Samson in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran, pending approval from the IPL Governing Council, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif reckoned that the legendary MS Dhoni has played a central role in the deal. He suggested it could be Dhoni’s final act in the IPL before an inevitable, heartbreaking farewell.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif said Dhoni is unafraid of losing a match-winner like Jadeja in order to acquire a capable wicketkeeping and leadership option in Samson. The former India batter felt the decision largely stemmed from Jadeja’s failed stint as captain in 2022, when Chennai won just one of their first eight games and Dhoni was compelled to reclaim the reins after the team languished at the bottom of the table.
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“The two players started playing IPL in 2008. Ever since he went to CSK, he hasn’t left it. If the trade is successful, this is Dhoni’s last year. There is also a chance that Dhoni might leave in the middle. If Sanju comes and starts to play, he gets comfortable with the management and Dhoni. In that case, Dhoni might ask Sanju to take over. We left Jadeja, our match-winner over the years, but we need a future captain," he said.
“They previously made Jadeja the captain. He couldn’t manage things. He didn’t like the leadership. In the middle, he said that he can’t do it. Not all players can do captaincy in the IPL. In the long-term plan, Dhoni wants to sacrifice Jadeja to bring in a player who can take over leadership after the Dhoni era,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“They previously made Jadeja the captain. He couldn’t manage things. He didn’t like the leadership. In the middle, he said that he can’t do it. Not all players can do captaincy in the IPL. In the long-term plan, Dhoni wants to sacrifice Jadeja to bring in a player who can take over leadership after the Dhoni era,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Kaif's comment came amid a report in The Indian Express, which stated that Jadeja had a lengthy discussion with Dhoni, current captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, and head coach Stephen Fleming before agreeing to join Rajasthan. "Dhoni was involved in the discussions with Jadeja to gauge his interest, and only after the all-rounder too agreed on a move to Rajasthan that further talks took shape," the report mentioned.
Kaif further claimed that if the deal is finalised, IPL 2026 could be Dhoni's last season in the tournament, given that Chennai will finally have found an able replacement for him.
“If Samson is likely to join CSK, there would be a lot of calls. Sanju must have called on the phone. Behind the scenes, there are a lot of phone calls. Sanju might have spoken to CSK, maybe Dhoni, ‘Bhai kya lagta hai.’ See, Dhoni runs the team, and if CSK wants Sanju this time, then he is also the future captain. It also means that this is Dhoni’s last year. Why would they want Sanju? Jadeja has been playing for them for a long time (since 2012),” he added.
Kaif felt Samson would be more suited to playing in Chepauk than other Indian wicketkeeping options in Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, and would be an ideal batter to solidify the middle-order.
“The style of batting Sanju Samson has, he is more likely to succeed with the bat in Chennai than Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul. He might come at No. 3 or 4, and he can hit sixes in the middle overs,” he added.