In one of the biggest trade deals in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the five-time champions, parted ways with former captain Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran,
to bring Sanju Samson from Rajasthan Royals (RR). After a lot of rumours surrounding the trade deal for the past week or so, it was confirmed on Saturday, November 15, which is also the deadline date for IPL teams to announce their retained players for the 2026 season.
To discuss the trade deal with RR, Kasi Viswanathan, the CEO of CSK, spoke extensively in a video package shared by the franchise on their official X account about why they went through with it. The CSK official stated that they are not used to the path of trading players in the IPL, reminding everyone about their only previous trade deal was to bring in Robin Uthappa but this time around, he revealed that they felt the need of acquiring a top-order Indian batter, which is more likely to be available during a trade window than the auction.
Watch the video here:
This led to CSK making the “toughest decision” to trade Ravindra Jadeja in particular to RR ahead of the IPL 2026 season. Kasi Viswanathan remarked, “And hence we have to take this call. And, this decision has been taken by the team management and it is a very tough decision leaving out Jaddu, who has been responsible for the success of CSK over the years. It was probably one of the toughest decisions that CSK had to take, that the team management had to take. Considering the transition of CSK at this point of time, the team management took the toughest decision.”
It was after mutual agreement that we undertook this: Kasi Viswanathan on CSK's trade deal
The CSK CEO also mentioned that it was ultimately a “mutual agreement” they undertook with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran before making the final call. He said, “It is a must that we should consult with the players concerned. And it was after mutual agreement that we undertook this. When I spoke to Jadeja, he was also very clear that if there is an opportunity for him because he is also, he also felt that he was at the fag end of his career in white ball. So he also felt that he can have a break.”
With the IPL retention deadline currently in effect on November 15, the teams are going to announce their retained players in the next few hours or so.
