Will Sanju Samson lead CSK in IPL 2026? Ravi Ashwin opens up

Former Indian off-spinner Ravi Ashwin has made it clear that the Chennai Super Kings wouldn’t be thinking of offering a captaincy stint to the keeper-batter Sanju Samson straightaway in his first season with the franchise.

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Notably, there have been strong reports from various sources that the CSK franchise is looking to trade Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to the Rajasthan Royals in order to rope in Sanju Samson to their franchise for the IPL 2026 season.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin asserted that Ruturaj Gaikwad will continue to be the captain of the Chennai-based franchise for the forthcoming season. However, CSK might consider elevating Samson as the skipper in the future. 

“I don’t think Sanju Samson will get captaincy because this is his first season. And giving someone captaincy in his first year at the franchise, I am not sure about it. Ruturaj will continue. But Samson will definitely be an option going forward to the future, if the deal happens,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, Ashwin felt Jadeja is one of the best finishers in the shortest format of the game, adding that the Jaipur surface will assist the all-rounder. He also stated that RR requires an experienced player in the middle-order as they failed to finish multiple matches in the previous season and Jadeja’s addition would solve the concern. 

“With his batting, he is still one of the best finishers going around. He is not striking at 190, but he is still striking at over 150 in death overs against fast bowlers and fairly less against spin, because we know his role is not to take on spinners in the middle overs. He is doing a fine job in the role as a finisher after the 16th over. He is averaging 50 against pace and a bit less against spin, which is understandable,” Ashwin said.

“Keeping this in mind, that trade is going to be amazing news for Rajasthan Royals. Jadeja gives the same finishing skills (as Tristan Stubbs). The Jaipur pitch will also suit him. It won’t swing much, there won’t be spongy bounce and the ball doesn’t spin much in Jaipur. That’s perfect,” he noted.

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“Rajasthan have Suryavanshi, Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag. They are expected to score runs and finish games as well. But we need to understand that they are youngsters and they like to express themselves. They will take the bowlers on. But for finishing, you need experience,” he stated.

“There was a lot of dependency on Shimron Hetmyer. Over the last five years, they were trying to get Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel to finish. Now, these four youngsters can go out and express themselves, because Jadeja and Hetmyer will take care of finishing,” he concluded.

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