Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, right, and Sanju Samson (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar) (PTI04_03_2026_000298A)
Former England captain Michael Vaughan and former New Zealand player Simon Doll have raised questions about the dynamics within Chennai Super Kings, suggesting skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad may feel “threatened” by the presence of…
Sanju Samson
. Speaking on Cricbuzz, the duo discussed Samson’s role before turning their attention to Gaikwad’s position as captain. “What about Captain Gaikwad? Do you think he feels threatened [by Samson]?” Vaughan asked. “Sure,” Dole replied. Vaughan explained the situation in detail, pointing out the multi-layered dynamics within the side. “[One of the league’s] The youngest captain Gaikwad, he’s done it a little bit now and you’re kind of saying: ‘Keep going, we’ll support you, you’re the leader’.
But by the way, we are signing Sanju, who is a very good captain and goalkeeper. And guess what? We have a goalkeeper who has been captain for a long period of time and has done a very good job, and we will try to replace him.
But you keep leading the team and hope it doesn’t affect you.” Samson, who was the longest serving and among the most successful captains of Rajasthan Royals, led the team to the IPL 2022 final, enhancing his credentials as a captain.
However, his debut for CSK in IPL 2026 has been disappointing, with back-to-back single-digit results. Doll acknowledged the pressure surrounding the wicketkeepers, especially after a high-profile move. “The challenge is tough for him and it’s one of those situations you find yourself in when you’re not desperate, but when you want to play for a certain team and you want to put on a show,” Doll said. “I mean he’s a southern boy, right? He’s a Kerala boy. He’s a Kerala boy.”
He wants to make an offer. I think it feels more like home. In the south trade took place. It was a big deal as we talked about, you lost two quality players for one player.
So the pressure is very huge, probably the pressure they see on him in the future as well. But he has to remember what happened a few weeks ago, right? How was he playing in the last 3 matches? [in the T20 World Cup]”. These comments came after Chennai Super Kings suffered their second successive defeat, losing to Punjab Kings despite scoring a competitive 209 runs for five. Punjab’s chase was anchored by the skipper
Shreyas Iyer
who hit a fluent 50 off 29 balls and created a crucial 59-run stand with Nihal Vadera. Contributions by Priyansh Arya, Prabhasimran Singh and Cooper Connolly ensured the visitors chased down the target with five wickets in hand. Earlier, youngster Aayush Mhatre impressed with a 43-ball 73, while Gaikwad scored 28 as CSK built a strong platform. But Samson’s early dismissal and sluggishness in the middle hurt the hosts, who managed 64 runs in the last five overs through late knocks from Sarfaraz Khan and Shivam Dubey. In the end, despite posting a massive total, CSK were outplayed by a compact Punjab unit, leaving questions not only about their bowling but also about the evolving leadership equation within the team.