Sanju Samson, the captain of the Rajasthan Royals (RR), has once again stated how much he admires Chennai Super Kings (CSK) great MS Dhoni as the IPL 2025 season draws near. Samson talked about his path from idolising Dhoni to sharing the platform with him ahead of their highly anticipated match on March 30 at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati, Assam. Dhoni has been revered as a God-like figure, especially for budding cricketers. With a keeper himself, Samson surely would’ve taken quite a lot of learnings just by watching the former Indian captain.
What did Samson say on Dhoni?
In an interview with Star Sports, Samson recalled his first meeting with Dhoni after an IPL match against CSK in Sharjah. The RR captain admitted that every time he played against CSK, he eagerly waited for a chance to sit down and talk with Dhoni, learning from the master himself.
“Like every young Indian cricketer, I always wanted to be around MS Dhoni. Every time we played against CSK, I wanted to sit and talk to him, ask him how he does things. It was a dream for me. I remember playing a match against CSK in Sharjah, where I finally performed well, scored around 70-80 runs, won the game, and became the Man of the Match. After that, I met Mahi bhai, and since then, our relationship has grown.
“Even now, I meet him often. Just yesterday, I met him again. It’s truly a blessed feeling—to go from idolizing him to now sitting with him for shoots and events. I feel like I’m living my dream.” In the aforementioned Sharjah game, Samson went bonkers against CSK and made 74 off just 32 balls. His innings included as many as nine sixes!
Latest on Cricket
- Fun fact: RR’s Vaibhav Sooryavasnhi wasn’t even born when RCB last beat CSK at Chepauk in IPL!
- DRS Mar 28: CSK pacer ruled out vs RCB, Rohit Sharma to drop himself again & Shreyas Iyer’s wish granted
- LSG Player Ratings vs SRH: Shardul Thakur does ‘Lord’ things, Nicholas Pooran decimates Cummins & co
The Samson-Dhoni bonding!
Samson and Dhoni have been seen together off the field as well. Recently, the duo featured in a fun IPL 2025 promo for Star Sports and shared the stage at Dhoni’s app launch event in Mumbai. At the event, Samson expressed the sentiment of countless fans, hoping to see Dhoni continue playing. “When MS Dhoni comes to play the IPL, people keep talking about ‘when is he retiring?’ I keep telling myself ‘thoda aur bhaiya, thoda aur’ (please, play a little more). That’s the example I had in my mind. Of course, our Indian mentality is to get ‘thoda aur.’ I also agree with that,” Samson added.
With CSK and RR set to battle twice this IPL 2025 season, fans can look forward to the on-field rivalry between these two teams and another chapter in the bond between Samson and Dhoni. The first showdown will take place on March 30 in Guwahati, with the return fixture scheduled for May 12 in Chennai.
Editor's Pick
Cricket
Unpopular Opinion: Pant blowing up chances of T20I comeback with each IPL 2025 innings
Top Stories
