Ever since Sanju Samson joined the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, fans and pundits have wondered whether he would replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as the skipper. Even if the status quo has been maintained, Gaikwad’s performance has left a lot to be desired, and the chorus continues to grow to hand the reins over to Samson. The T20 World Cup 2026 Player of the Tournament is no stranger to leadership, as he previously captained the Rajasthan Royals, even taking them to the finals in the 2022 edition.
Samson has also been in phenomenal form in the IPL 2026 season, scoring 402 runs in 10 matches at an average of 57.43, including 2 centuries and 1 half-century. CSK have won all the games where Sanju has struck gold with the bat, and this has led to the right-hander making an immediate impact at his new home.
Ahead of the CSK’s next fixture against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Chepauk, Samson finally revealed why he didn’t ask for captaincy when he made the switch from the Royals to CSK.
“No. (whether the thought of becoming the CSK captain entered his head). I already had a team. I already had a place. I wanted to come out of there and join another team. So in that transaction, you can’t actually have demands. Honestly, you are trying to get in a new home. When you’re trying to get into a new home, you don’t go there with demands, is what I have learned to be very honest,” Samson told Abhinav Mukund in the latest episode of the Super Kings podcast.
“You go there, and you try to prove your worth. You try to behave the way you are, perform at your maximum, and from there you take on. And then there is something else, too. A lot of Malayalis work in Chennai. A lot of Malayalis work in Dubai. The reason you are picking Malayalis is that they will give their life to repay the trust. CSK have trusted me and invited me here. I am ready to give my everything here,” he added.
Samson backs Gaikwad
Samson, 31, also backed his skipper Gaikwad, revealing all the good qualities of the CSK skipper. He also opened up on how the Maharashtra batter reached out to him and convinced him to leave the Royals and join CSK.
“Rutu is honestly a very nice, a very different kind of an Indian cricketing superstar. He is a superstar. He is leading one of the biggest franchises. But he doesn’t behave like a normal superstar. He may not sound or behave like a confident guy, but I feel he is the most assured and confident cricketer in the Indian cricket circle. Any other person at his level, he just captained a franchise for one year,” said Samson.
“I have done it for another team for five years for another team. So, he suddenly invited me to play on his team. He has immense confidence in himself as a cricketer and as a person to take actions like this. So these types of actions do attract me. Nowadays, people talk a lot like I will do this, I will do that, but more than talk, actions count much more,” he added.
Speaking of CSK, the franchise is currently in sixth place in the points table, and a win against the Lucknow Super Giants will take them to fifth place.