Ever since Sanju Samson linked up with Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL 2026 season, plenty of supporters and cricket observers have been asking the same question: will he eventually replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as captain? Even with the current leadership unchanged, Gaikwad’s recent returns have not satisfied everyone, and the push for Samson to take over has only gathered momentum. The T20 World Cup 2026 Player of the Tournament is no stranger to the skipper’s role either—he previously captained the Rajasthan Royals and guided them to the final in the 2022 edition.
Samson has also been in striking form during the IPL 2026 campaign. He has amassed 402 runs in 10 matches at an average of 57.43, including two centuries and one half-century. CSK have won every match in which Samson has made a major impact with the bat, and that immediate influence has made his arrival in yellow even more noticeable.
Before CSK’s next outing against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Chepauk, Samson finally explained why he never pressed for the captaincy when he moved from the Royals to CSK.
“No. Whether the idea of becoming the CSK captain crossed my mind—I already had a team, I already had a place. I wanted to move out of there and join another squad. In that kind of deal, you can’t really come with demands. Honestly, you’re trying to settle into a new environment. When you’re trying to enter a new home, you don’t go there with demands,” Samson said on the latest episode of the Super Kings podcast with Abhinav Mukund.
He added, “You arrive, you aim to prove your value, you try to carry yourself the way you naturally are, and you put in performances at your absolute best—then you take it from there. And there’s another side to it as well. A lot of Malayalis work in Chennai, and many work in Dubai too. The reason you back Malayalis is because they will give everything to repay the faith. CSK trusted me and brought me in, and I’m prepared to give my everything here.”
Samson backs Gaikwad
Samson, who is 31, also expressed strong support for his current skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad. He spoke about what makes Gaikwad stand out and described how the Maharashtra batter convinced him to leave the Royals and join CSK.
“Rutu is honestly a very nice person—he’s also a different kind of Indian cricketing superstar. He is a superstar. He leads one of the biggest franchises. But he doesn’t come across like a typical superstar. He might not sound or behave like someone who is overflowing with confidence, but I genuinely feel he is the most assured and confident cricketer in the Indian circuit. Any other player at his level—if they captained a franchise for one year, it would feel like something short-term,” Samson said.
He continued, “I’ve captained for five years with another team, so I’ve seen how it works. He suddenly invited me to play for his side. He has immense confidence in himself—both as a cricketer and as a person willing to take bold calls. Those kinds of decisions do attract me. These days, people talk a lot about what they will do, what they will change—yet actions matter far more than words.”
CSK’s points situation
On the team front, CSK are placed sixth in the points table. A win over Lucknow Super Giants would lift them to fifth position ahead of the next phase of the tournament.
