The reports about Sanju Samson joining CSK emerge almost every day.
The trade rumours about Sanju Samson to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, have gained noise in the last few days. Nothing official has come, but reports about the development emerge almost every day. And if there’s truth to these reports, it won’t be surprising.
CSK desperately want a superstar wicketkeeper-batter to replace MS Dhoni, who will soon retire and leave a massive void in the lineup. Their liking for a proven performer is well-documented, and Samson has been among the top wicketkeeper-batters in the league lately. That he can also take the captaincy duties makes him a more luring option.
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When the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction finished, CSK had numerous flaws. Sanju Samson would have been an ideal fit at that time. He could have opened the innings and helped Ruturaj Gaikwad on the field. However, that time flew by, and CSK ensured they were in better shape by the end of the season.
Now, =Samson might be an unwanted player since the team has options at the top now. For the next season, CSK can open with Ayush Mhatre and Ruturaj Gaikwad, while Urvil Patel can bat at No.3 and keep the wickets. They will have Shaik Rasheed and Andre Siddarth as backups for these slots.
If Samson is included, he must play, but CSK don’t need him, given the current top three are as exciting and deserve a long rope. Gaikwad is a proven player, while Ayush and Urvil showed their expertise in limited chances last season. Regarding captaincy, Gaikwad should have more matches as a leader because he has had limited opportunities to lead the side in a new squad after the mega auction.
Instead, CSK should save the money and look to fill other faulty slots in the next auction. Fortunately for them, a few quality options will be available to fill those gaps in the IPL 2026 auction. Samson will take a lot of money and won’t solve too many problems either, since he will also ask for that opening spot.
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Well, Sanju Samson can obviously move to the middle order if required, but his best comes at the top in this format. He has mostly batted in the top order over the last few years and would like to continue doing so to remain in contention for national selection. Even for India, Samson has been batting as an opener and has done a fabulous job.
93.47% of his total T20 innings have come in the top three since 2024. While batting in the top three, Samson has an average of 37 and a 156.99 strike rate in 43 outings, including seven fifties and three centuries, in this duration. Clearly, he is more suited to the top order, and CSK must play him at the top to extract the best out of him.
But CSK have options for the middle order, and most might have to bat out of position to accommodate Samson. If Samson plays, at least one of the quality batters will have to sit out, which might not be ideal. There are enough options for CSK to work with, and they don’t need Samson at this point.
CSK should invest in middle-order players who contribute with both bat and ball, as well as middle-over enforcers. They had a few options last season, but most of them were inadequate and failed to make any impact. Hence, the team should release all of them and opt for better options by having the purse to get them.
Here’s how their current lineup should be before moving to the IPL 2026 auction:
Note: MS Dhoni has been excluded to keep long-term planning.
As is visible, CSK have two major spots to fill along with finding backups in the spin and pace departments. The primary target should be to get a solid pace-bowling all-rounder and an enforcer. Among the backups, the big challenge will be to find an alternate for Ravichandran Ashwin, who can come in for one of the pacers if the track requires an additional spinner.
Their primary target should be Cameron Green, who can play the role of an all-rounder. If CSK get him, they might not need a specialist enforcer since he can do that job. He has the height and pace, while his natural lengths are short, making him everything CSK need at the moment.
He has started playing in the middle order for Australia in the shortest format and can be flexible with his batting position. Further, he can be a long-term investment, and the Super Kings need to build a team for the future. CSK had the likes of Vijay Shankar and Jamie Overton, but they couldn’t perform well enough, and the team might need alternatives next season.
Chennai can also trade in Suryansh Shedge, who had limited game time with the Punjab Kings (PBKS) last season. He is naturally a lower-order batter whose bowling has been improving and saves an overseas slot. CSK will require a pace-hitter in the lower order to replace MS Dhoni, and Shedge can be one of the contenders.
Further, they can look for an enforcer and an off-spinner who can bat. Among the options available in the enforcer category are Umran Malik, who can be released by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Kuldeep Sen, who can be released by PBKS. The overseas players include Riley Meredith, who has been in fine form lately, and Anrich Nortje, another pacer KKR might release.
For the off-spinners, Chennai can look to re-buy Ravichandran Ashwin at a lower price after releasing him. Other options include Maheesh Theekshana, who might be released by the Rajasthan Royals (RR), and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who was with the Mumbai Indians (MI). There’s Michael Bracewell, whose price will be high. So, CSK can look for options from the domestic arena in this category if required.
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