The high-profile trade of Ravindra Jadeja and Sanju Samson is on the verge of being formalised by all the parties, after mutual agreement to add Sam Curran to the deal.
This would mark the end of Jadeja's association with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), having won three Indian Premier League (IPL) titles with them.
Since joining CSK in 2012, he has played 200 matches for the franchise, which is joint-second alongside Suresh Raina.
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As he looks set to leave for his former team Rajasthan Royals (RR), former India player Kris Srikkanth has opposed the move and asked CSK not to go ahead with it.
Srikkanth objects to Samson-Jadeja swap before IPL 2026
While discussing the trade reports on his YouTube channel (Cheeky Cheeka) with his son and another former CSK player, Anirudha Srikkanth, he emphasized on the importance of having an all-rounder like Jadeja in the team and how it could back-fire for the team.
Considering Samson is touted as MS Dhoni's long-term successor, he believes Urvil Patel can do the job as a wicketkeeper-batter, despite only making three appearances last season for his 68 runs.
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"Without Jadeja, who's your all-rounder in CSK? Having an all-rounder is very important — it's the key role in the T20 format. I am not discounting Samson, who's superb. I've been reading that Sanju Samson will slowly be developed as the successor to Dhoni. But for that, you already have Urvil Patel. He's also a wicketkeeper batter," Srikkanth said.
He further discussed how CSK would need to find a new all-rounder in the market, with the scarcity of quality available in the mini-auctions.
Citing Jadeja's 170 IPL scalps, according to the former player, someone like Cameron Green will not be able to replicate what Jadeja does with the ball.