Fresh from winning the T20 World Cup 2026, Sanju Samson entered the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk to roaring chants of ‘Sanju, Sanju’ during the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ROAR 2026 event on Sunday. CSK’s ROAR 2026 event is a special occasion for the five-time champions as it gives fans an opportunity to meet the entire team.
Loyal to Rajasthan Royals for nearly 12 seasons, Samson joined CSK as part of a trade deal that saw Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran move to the 2008 champions. Always a once-in-a-generation talent, Samson’s move to CSK also suggests the franchise is looking beyond MS Dhoni.
In a video shared by CSK on their social media, the crowd went wild when Samson entered the stadium. The wicket batsman looked up to the sky and played the almighty before reaching the middle of the ground. CSK captioned the post “Anbuden welcome Sanju Samson.”
After not getting a single game in the T20 World Cup 2024, Samson was initially benched for the 2026 edition as well. But a slump in the form of Abhishek Sharma forced the Indian team management to include the right-hander in the playing eleven.
If his 15-ball 24 against Zimbabwe was any indication, Samson won the hearts of the entire country with 97 (vs West Indies), 87 (vs England in the semi-final) and 87 (vs New Zealand in the final) in his next three matches to lead the Men in Blue to back-to-back T20 World Cup titles.
The legends reunite for CSK’s ROAR 2026
Meanwhile, the event reunited the legends who played for Chennai Super Kings in the past. The decision to bring together the legendary names who have donned the CSK jersey over the years is to show respect and gratitude for the contribution they have made to the franchise over the years.
While Suresh Raina was shown meeting MS Dhoni at the stadium, former player and current head coach Stephen Fleming was captured meeting the likes of Matthew Hayden, Murali Vijay, Subramanium Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Parthiv Patel, Joginder Sharma, Muttiah Muralitharan, Shadab Jakati, Laxmipathy Balaji and others.
The former players are believed to play in the exhibition match with the current squad. Post it, Oscar-winning music director AR Rahman and Tamil actor-singer Sivakarthikeyan will own the evening with their performances.
Will Sanju Samson don gloves in CSK?
Although nothing official, Samson’s CSK recruitment tips look at a longer future for the wicketkeeper-batsman in the franchise. With Dhoni already 44, Samson will serve as the franchise’s next wicketkeeper once the five-time IPL award-winning captain calls it quits.
In IPL 2026, Dhoni is sure to keep the wickets but it will be interesting to see how the franchise uses Samson. It should be noted that Samson can play in the field other than keeping wickets.
