Sanju Samson, neither captain nor keeper! CSK announce Ruturaj Gaikwad as skipper for IPL 2026

2 hours ago 10

Sanju Samson’s Indian Premier League (IPL) career has flipped on its head. For the last 4 years, the wicketkeeper has been captain of the Rajasthan Royals (RR). From being the face of a franchise, Samson will now have to play as just ‘another’ cricketer.

Not Samson, Gaikwad to captain CSK

Now that Samson’s trade to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has been confirmed, the 31-year-old might have to go back five years. That’s because CSK aren’t going to appoint him as captain. Moments after announcing retentions for theIPL 2026 season, the 5-time champions announced that Ruturaj Gaikwad would continue to lead the franchise.

Gaikwad was named captain in 2024. MS Dhoni decided to step down as skipper on the captains’ meet day, and the opener didn’t just sub in for the photographs but took over the franchise. Considering Samson was getting traded to CSK, many expected that he would take over not only as wicketkeeper from MS Dhoni but also as skipper. It seems like neither will happen.

Dhoni has been confirmed to play the IPL 2026 season. One can’t imagine how he won’t be the gloveman for CSK, a role that has been his since the inception of the league. Despite the impact player rule, the veteran keeper has featured in the main team. With 2026 expected to be his final season, it’s unlikely that he’ll hand the gloves to Samson.

That means Samson would be neither the wicketkeeper nor the captain at CSK. It’ll be fascinating to see how he handles this.

CSK squad before IPL 2026 auction

Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, MS Dhoni (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel (wk), Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis