Sanju Samson, Chennai Super Kings player (PTI Image)
Veteran Indian pacer Ravichandran Ashwin has backed Sanju Samson as a potential future captain of Chennai Super Kings, while making it clear that the wicket-keeper-batsman should build his own legacy rather than inherit someone else’s.Reflecting on the evolution of CSK’s leadership, Ashwin noted that the transformation process has been underway for some time. And trace it back to the period in which
Ravindra Jadeja
He briefly took over the team, although that phase did not go as planned. Since then, according to Ashwin, the current leader
Ruturaj Gaikwad
He quietly took over alongside head coach Stephen Fleming.
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“I think the mantle has already been passed. When Jadeja took over the captaincy a few years ago, I think that’s when the mantle was likely to be passed.
“It didn’t quite work out, and then that was it, Ruturaj… I think Ruturaj has been running the show for the last two-three years along with Fleming,” Ashwin told ESPNCricinfo.Looking to the future, Ashwin feels Samson may eventually lead the series, though he avoided putting a time frame on it.“The scarf is passing, if you ask me, I mean I’m not an astrologer, but all I can say is that I see Sanju leading CSK at some point. I don’t know when, but I see it happening,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ashwin stressed that Samson should not feel forced to follow the path set by previous captains, referring to the famous CSK era under his rule.
MS Dhoni
.“The one thing I don’t want to risk or want for Sanju is to step into anyone’s shoes. You don’t really have to step into anyone’s legacy. We don’t necessarily need to live this way or play this way,” he said.“He has his own unique clothes that he lives in, and I would love to see his stamp on them.
The fact that we need to follow someone’s steps is where the problem begins. So we’re not living our lives, are we? We begin to deal with someone else’s footprints. That’s something I don’t want to see him do,” he explained.Meanwhile, Sanju Samson, who joined CSK ahead of the IPL 2026 auction via trade, has turned his season around admirably after a disappointing start. He hit a stunning unbeaten 115 against Delhi Capitals in CSK’s fourth match and carried that form into the next match with a fluent 48 off 32 deliveries.He will be in the spotlight once again when CSK takes on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
reconnaissance
Would you rather see Sanju Samson develop his own style of leading the team?