4 min readMay 10, 2026 11:21 AM IST
Sanju Samson has been the toast of the T20 cricket season in India this summer. After leading the national side to a sensational T20 World Cup triumph in March, Samson’s switch to the Chennai Super Kings had made headlines ahead of the IPL 2026 season.
The former Rajasthan Royals skipper was involved in one of the biggest trade deals in IPL history, moving to CSK at a sum of Rs 18 crore. While Samson was a proven captain at the Royals, the Kerala batter moved to the five-time champions without staking claim for a leadership role in a side currently helmed by Ruturaj Gaikwad, who took over from the legendary MS Dhoni.
Speaking in a recent Super Kings podcast, Samson opened up on why he did not demand captaincy while making the switch. “No. I already had a team. I already had a place. I wanted to come out of there and join another team. So in that transaction, you can’t actually have demands. Honestly, you are trying to get into a new home. When you’re trying to get into a new home, you don’t go there with demands, is what I have learned to be very honest,” Samson told former India cricket Abhinav Mukund in the latest podcast episode.
‘Lot of Malayalis work in Chennai
“You go there, and you try to prove your worth. You try to behave the way you are, perform at your maximum, and from there you take on. And then there is something else, too. A lot of Malayalis work in Chennai. A lot of Malayalis work in Dubai. The reason you are picking Malayalis is that they will give their life to repay the trust. CSK have trusted me and invited me here. I am ready to give my everything here,” Samson added.
The 31-year-old has led the batting charts in a topsy-turvy season for CSK. Samson smashed two centuries and a match-winning, unbeaten 87 thus far in his first stint in Chennai, aggregating 402 runs in 10 innings at a 167 strike rate. While CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad had come under scrutinty owing to his poor form and tactics early in the season, Samson backed his opening partner, labelling him as one of the most stable cricketers in the country.
ALSO READ | How MS Dhoni and Sridharan Sriram fixed Noor Ahmad’s broken wrist-spin — and why CSK need it to hold
“Rutu is honestly a very nice, a very different kind of an Indian cricketing superstar. He is a superstar. He is leading one of the biggest franchises. But he doesn’t behave like a normal superstar. He may not sound or behave like a confident guy, but I feel he is the most assured and confident cricketer in the Indian cricket circle. Any other person at his level, he just captained a franchise for one year,” said Samson.
Story continues below this ad
“I have done it for another team for five years for another team. So, he suddenly invited me to play on his team. He has immense confidence in himself as a cricketer and as a person to take actions like this. So these types of actions do attract me. Nowadays, people talk a lot like I will do this, I will do that, but more than talk, actions count much more,” he added.
CSK are currently on fifth spot in the standings, with 10 points from as many games.
