Ruturaj Gaikwad went down memory lane and recalled Sanju Samson’s long-standing wish to play for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL. Gaikwad also revealed that Samson told him that he wanted to play under him. The two met in England a few years back, when Gaikwad was not yet the CSK captain and MS Dhoni was still leading the team full-time.
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Gaikwad said on the CSK podcast that he was the one who first encouraged Samson to consider joining the Super Kings, given that he hails from the southern part of India. This season, Samson will emerge as a five-time champion after being traded from Rajasthan Royals for Rs 18 crore.
“I remember we were talking about two or three years ago – I think we were in England. He was asking me how it was at CSK, how it all worked and what the environment was like. I told him, ‘I feel as a South Indian you should explore this opportunity. You should be here,'” Gaikwad Abhinav Mukund said on the podcast.
“I told him that and he said he would definitely like to come if the opportunity arose. The first thing he asked me two or three years ago was how I was doing there and if I was going to be the next captain. I told him: ‘I don’t know. I don’t really care about the captaincy. I just like playing here. I like the atmosphere, I like the culture here’ and I like the culture here.
“And he immediately replied, ‘I don’t want to be in a situation where I come there because I want to be the captain. I want to play under you. It’s your team, it’s your franchise and I’m happy to be there just as a player. But whenever I get an opportunity, I’ll definitely love to come,'” Gaikwad added.
Samson heads to IPL on the back of an amazing campaign in the Men’s T20 World Cupwhere he won the Player of the Tournament award. He finished as the competition’s third-highest run-scorer and hit three fifties on the trot against the West Indies, England and New Zealand.
Gaikwad, on the other hand, has a big task ahead of him as CSK look to bounce back after finishing at the bottom of the table last season. He also endured a difficult campaign personally as he was sidelined mid-season with a hairline fracture in his elbow.
The Super Kings will begin their campaign on Monday, March 30 against the Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
27 March 2026 20:22 IST
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