Aaron Finch calls Sanju Samson a CSK superstar (Image: IPL/BCCI) Aaron Finch has praised Sanju Samson for the way he has settled into his new franchise, calling him the superstar Chennai Super Kings have been waiting to add to their line-up.Samson features in IPL 2026 after a historic Rs 18 crore trade from Rajasthan Royals to CSK. The wicket-keeper batsman emerged as one of the standout performers of the season, scoring 402 runs in 10 matches at an average of 57.42 and staying firmly in the Orange Cap race.In CSK’s last match against Delhi Capitals, Samson made an unbeaten 87 off 52 balls on a tricky surface to win the Player of the Match award. During the innings, he also created history by becoming the first batsman to be involved in two 100-plus partnerships against Delhi Capitals in a single IPL season.Earlier in the tournament, Samson scored an unbeaten 115 against Delhi Capitals in Chennai and followed it up with another century, 101 against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. He also crossed the 5000 IPL milestone during CSK’s clash against Kolkata Knight Riders in April 2026.
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Justin Langer finds positives in LSG defeat, praises Nicholas Pooran and backs Rishabh PantBut Samson’s season did not start smoothly. After arriving in a blockbuster that included Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran, he started IPL 2026 with three single-figure scores, all of which ended in defeats for CSK. Since then, the wicket-keeper batsman has turned his campaign around, scoring three 50+ scores in the last seven innings, including a crucial unbeaten 87 against Delhi Capitals.Aaron Finch praised Sanju Samson and called him Chennai Super Kings superstar, “He missed the first couple of games, didn’t he? All of a sudden there was a huge panic, ‘What have CSK done, they’ve got Sanju Samson and he’s out.’ Two games in T20s is nothing. It’s so hard to go through a season ultra-consistent. You probably can’t underestimate the pressure on someone going into a team like CSK. To be a big marquee signing, especially when you’ve also traded someone like Jadeja out of the side,” Finch told ESPNcricinfo. “Even though he (Samson) had a dream run at the end of the T20 World Cup and then came to CSK and missed out a couple of times, there’s still going to be a certain pride and pressure and almost a sense that you can tend to overdo it a bit in your own head, that you want to get to a new franchise and really put down a mark and say ‘I’m what you’ve been crying out for’ So the fact that he’s batting at a different level is great to see,” he added.
