Sanju Samson’s first season at Chennai Super Kings has already carried the numbers. It now has the emotion behind it. The wicketkeeper-batter, one of CSK’s key performers in IPL 2026, opened up on his long-standing admiration for MS Dhoni and said sharing the same dressing room with the former India captain feels “more than a dream.” Samson made the comments on the Super Kings Podcast, where he traced his fandom back to his childhood and recalled how Dhoni’s rise in Indian cricket left a lasting impression on him.
Sanju Samson said his earliest memory of Dhoni came from the period when the former India captain first broke into the national side, sporting his long hair. Dhoni’s early international career began quietly, but it changed rapidly after his 148 against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam in 2005 and his unbeaten 183 against Sri Lanka in Jaipur later that year.
“I was in 4th or 5th standard, very small then. I remember seeing this guy with long hair walking out to bat for India. He would get out in a couple of games and then suddenly score a hundred against Pakistan. He scored 183, then he kept scoring big runs after that. From that moment, I became a huge fan of his,” Samson said on the Super Kings Podcast.
Samson recalls cutting Dhoni’s face from sticker
Samson said Dhoni’s popularity grew so quickly after those early knocks that he became visible everywhere, from posters to television commercials. The CSK batter recalled one particular childhood memory involving a Boost bottle sticker, which he cut out and pasted on his diary.
“He was everywhere after that – posters, media, advertisements. He used to feature in Boost ads. At home, we used to drink Boost, and there was a sticker on the bottle. I remember cutting Mahi bhai’s face out from that sticker and sticking it on my diary,” Samson said.
The comments come during Samson’s first season with CSK, where he has quickly become one of the side’s most important batting figures. His move to Chennai has placed him in the same dressing room as Dhoni, a player he grew up idolising and has often spoken about with deep admiration.
Samson said the experience of being around Dhoni at CSK has gone beyond anything he imagined as a child. The 31-year-old said he regularly speaks with Dhoni, spends time with him, and seeks his advice.
Also Read: Sanju Samson breaks silence on not ‘demanding’ CSK captaincy: ‘When you’re entering a new home…’
“From that moment to where I am now, what more can I say? I sit with him, talk with him, play games with him, go to his room and ask him anything I want. He advises me as well. It’s been a dream, actually more than a dream. I think any kid would dream about this, and I feel very fortunate to be here,” Samson said.
Samson’s remarks add a personal layer to his CSK stint. He arrived at the franchise with the expectations that come with being one of India’s leading wicketkeeper-batters, and his performances have already made him central to Chennai’s campaign. The Dhoni connection gives his season a wider emotional pull, with Samson now occupying the same environment that once shaped his imagination as a young cricket fan.
For CSK, Samson’s form has been crucial in IPL 2026. For Samson, the season has also become a full-circle moment. The player who once pasted Dhoni’s face on a diary now shares team meetings, dressing-room conversations and informal chats with him inside one of Indian cricket’s most storied franchises.