Ruturaj Gaikwad’s leadership qualities are under scrutiny as the 5-time IPL winner, one of the most successful IPL teams, is not looking promising under his captaincy yet. At the moment, the team is struggling to maintain the required momentum. In the absence of MS Dhoni, the responsibility of taking the team forward lies entirely on the shoulders of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Ahead of the IPL 2026 season, it was believed that Gaikwad’s leadership skills would further flourish with Dhoni on the field. Due to a calf injury, the 44-year-old keeper-batsman is out of the field and is yet to play his first match in IPL 2026.
At this moment, if the team management wants to think beyond Gaikwad, when the team is ranked seventh with only 2 wins from 6 matches, then there is one person who can be trusted the most, and that is Sanju Samson.
Three reasons why Sanju Samson should become the captain of Chennai Super Kings:
Proven captaincy experience in the Indian Premier League:
Current CSK star, Sanju Samson is the former captain of Rajasthan Royals for several seasons in the league. According to statistics, RR has played the maximum number of matches under his leadership. Samson captained the team in a total of 67 IPL matches, in which the team won on 33 occasions and lost on 32 occasions, while one match had no result. The keeper-batsman led the way in the 2022 season with 458 runs, taking the team to its first final since 2008. Cricket legend Shane Warne is second in the list, who guided the team in 55 games.
According to the franchise’s official website, “In 2024, he (Sanju Samson) overtook Shane Warne’s record of leading Rajasthan Royals in most matches and became the most successful captain in terms of number of wins in 2025. Samson was also the only Royals captain to lead the team to two playoff appearances in the IPL.”
Quality performance under pressure:
Be it the responsibility for Team India or the IPL team, Sanju Samson has performed well many times in pressure situations. In his first match as captain in 2021, he scored a brilliant 119 against Punjab Kings, becoming the first player to score a century on IPL captaincy debut. The opening batsman had already registered a century for Chennai Super Kings in the 2026 season, which also came amid a crucial moment.
Effective Leadership Skills:
Samson is known for supporting budding cricketers. During his tenure with the Royals, emerging players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag (currently captain of Rajasthan Royals) and Dhruv Jurel got a chance to blossom. Actually, Vaibhav Suryavanshi also saw the captaincy of Sanju Samson.
The CSK team also has many young stars like Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brewis, Prashant Veer, Karthik Sharma, Urvil Patel and Ramakrishna Ghosh. If Samson is offered a leadership role, the team’s budding talents may also get a proven guide and mentor.
Read More: Ravindra Jadeja can’t win matches for Rajasthan Royals: Virender Sehwag drops the bomb
