Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has urged Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to not give in to the urge of replacing Ruturaj Gaikwad with Sanju Samson as captain in IPL 2026. The former RR star was traded for a sum of Rs 18 crore to the five-time champions last year ahead of the mini-auction. While Sanju has been tipped to get a vice-captaincy role this season, Pathan has advised the team against replacing Gaikwad as the captain.
‘Give Ruturaj Gaikwad time’
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘TATA IPL: Out or Out of the Park’, Pathan explained the need for CSK to give time to Gaikwad to settle down as captain and warned the team against putting Samson at the helm of affairs. The ex-Indian cricketer pointed out that Gaikwad was just coming out of the shadows of MS Dhoni and said that he must be given a chance to prove himself as captain. Gaikwad took over the reins of the team last season but it was cut short due to an injury which saw captaincy being handed back to MSD.
“I don’t think CSK should hand over the leadership duties to Sanju Samson. You have to give Ruturaj Gaikwad time to settle as captain. He has been leading the team since 2024. No matter what people say, he is coming out of the shadow of MS Dhoni. You want him to come out completely and stand in his own light. You want to see what he can produce. You want him to lead the team when MS is not playing and stand on his own, without that overwhelming feeling of always being under that energy,” Pathan stated.
Last year for MS Dhoni in CSK?
“IPL 2026 is likely to be his last year in the yellow jersey. I see him playing more of a mentor-cum-player role this year. I don’t see him batting at number seven. I see him batting at number eight. Knowing that he is on his way out, he wants to wean himself out,” Pathan added.
