Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has revealed that he will open the batting alongside new signing Sanju Samson at the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
There have been a lot of question marks surrounding CSK’s opening combination ever since the arrival of Samson in their ranks in a trade deal and the emergence of Ayush Mhatre towards the backend of 2025. Following a poor start to their campaign last time around, CSK changed their philosophy and went with younger players, capable of hitting hard from the get go.
Mhatre thrived at the top of the order, scoring 240 runs at a strike-rate of 188.97. The 18-year-old, however, will be making way for Samson to open alongside captain Gaikwad and is now widely expected to bat at number three.
Using Samson as an opener makes sense for CSK following his exploits at the recently-concluded T20 World Cup. The right-hander scored 321 at an strike rate of just shy of 200 to take India to their second consecutive T20 title. The 31-year-old played three consecutive match-winning knocks at the tournament to be declared Player of the Tournament.
Gaikwad, meanwhile, played just five times last year before sustaining an injury which kept him out of the entire tournament. He has been CSK’s primary opener for a number of years now and the captain will want to continue playing in the position he is most comfortable with, allowing himself to settle down and try and build a long innings.
In his last full season in Chennai, Gaikwad scored 583 runs at an average of 53 whilst striking at 141.16.
For CSK, both Mhatre and Samson are similar kind players, playing the big shots from ball one. That combination did work for India with the former Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper opening along with another hard-hitting player in Abhishek Sharma.
The five-time champions have an exciting squad this year following a disastrous campaign last time around where they finished at the foot of the table. They will open their 2026 IPL campaign against RR at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
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