Nitish Rana has sparked a fresh drama around Sanju Samson’s future with Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. Nitish Rana, who captained the West Delhi Lions to the Delhi Premier League 2025 (DPL 2025) glory, dropped a cheeky hint about Sanju Samson.
After the West Delhi Lions thrashed the Central Delhi Kings by six wickets in the DPL 2025 final at Arun Jaitley Stadium on August 31 to lift the trophy, the left-hander was involved in a light-hearted discussion with the RJ Ramit Jain and dropped a massive hint on the social media buzz.
Nitish Rana hints at Sanju Samson’s shocking exit from Rajasthan Royals
For weeks, there have been speculations that Sanju Samson will be leaving the Rajasthan Royals, and he will be seen in action for a different franchise in IPL 2026. It is also being said that Samson already asked the Royals to either release him or trade ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.
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Now, Rana, who played under Sanju Samson’s captaincy in the IPL 2025 for the Rajasthan Royals, added fuel to those rumors by openly hinting that there is truth behind the rumors. During a rapid-fire round with RJ Ramit Jain, Rana was asked to share something about his RR teammates that the world doesn’t know.
The RJ asked, “What is one thing the world doesn’t know about Sanju Samson?” To which, the Delhi batter quickly responded by saying, “Where is he going to play next year?”
When asked about Jofra Archer, Rana said that the England fast bowler is a “big football fan.” Interestingly, when the young batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s name came up, the West Delhi Lions skipper jokingly questioned his age, only later to avoid creating any controversy.
There has already been controversy over Suryavanshi’s age, so Rana replied by saying, “Is he 14 years old or not?” before saying “sorry” with a laugh.
Speaking about Riyan Paran, he noted, “I think he is not like what he looks like. He is very soft in real life. Soft as in he speaks very well. His attitude may look wrong on TV, but he is not like that.”
Cricket is everything for Nitish Rana
When asked one thing about Nitish Rana that the world doesn’t know, the Delhi player said that cricket has always been above everything in his life. He believes that cricket is far bigger than any individual, and that’s how he has always valued it.
He noted, “I think there is nothing bigger than cricket. The game is very big. From any player, from any match, from anything, I guess, I think cricket is a very big game. And I have always seen Cricket in a place where I have never seen myself, or my family, or anyone else. So, cricket is top for me.”
Notably, Rana was the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament in the Delhi Premier League 2025, where he amassed 393 runs at an amazing average of 65.50 and a strike rate of 181.94. He also hit the most sixes in the DPL 2025, and that’s 34, with the highest score being an unbeaten 134 off 55 balls.
