Sanju Samson has officially signed for the Kochi Blue Tigers of the Kerala Premier League (KPL) and is the league’s highest-paid player ever. The signing was announced just a month following the end of the IPL 2025 season.
Sanju pegged his base price at ₹3 lakh, but Kochi stole the headlines by acquiring him for a whopping ₹26.80 lakh—over half of the ₹50 lakh budget per franchise. This acquisition seals his position as the league’s most valuable player in its short history.
The second edition of KPL will be held between August 21 and September 6, and India has no T20I games lined up during this period, freeing Sanju’s calendar—at least on paper.
Possible Conflict With Duleep Trophy Obligations
Sanju can still miss out on half of the Kerala Premier League if he is picked for the Duleep Trophy, which starts from August 28. In the previous year, he was a part of India D team. His availability would be determined by national selection and the calendar of games.
Big Other Signings in KPL Auction
The KPL auction also witnessed some other prominent players securing great deals. Another Kerala player with IPL background, Vishnu Vinod, was acquired by Aries Kollam for ₹13.8 lakh. Jalaj Saxena, a regular of the domestic league and India A player, was acquired by Alleppey Ripples for ₹12.4 lakh.
CSK Interested in Sanju Samson Trade From RR
Rumors regarding Sanju Samson’s IPL future have grown stronger. Though still leading Rajasthan Royals, a Cricbuzz report found that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are interested in recruiting him into their team—if he becomes available.
“Sanju is certainly someone we are looking at. He is an Indian batsman, who is both a keeper and an opener. So if he is on the market, certainly we will be considering the possibility of him being with us,” said a CSK official to Cricbuzz.
The move would involve a trade, be it before or after the IPL 2026 mini-auction.
Samson’s Journey With RR So Far
Sanju started his IPL journey with Rajasthan Royals in 2013 and was a part of the team until 2015. He played briefly elsewhere before RR re-signed him in the 2018 mega-auction. He has been captain of the team since IPL 2021 and has been the core player for the franchise since then.
With KPL 2025 in the offing and CSK’s interest hanging in the air, Sanju Samson’s cricketing schedule and coming team affiliations are red-hot with speculation. His ₹26.80 lakh contract also puts the spotlight strongly on the increasing popularity and commercial muscle of Kerala’s T20 league.
