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Ever since Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2026 campaign was halted midway despite the arrival of Sanju Samson, questions were being raised whether Ruturaj Gaikwad was the right man to wear the armband for the “Yellow Army”.
Gaikwad’s most suggested option was CSK’s new player Sanju Samson. Before joining CSK via a trade deal in 2026, Sanju Samson was the captain of Rajasthan Royals between 2021 and 2025.
Gaikwad became the captain of CSK in 2024 itself, but he did not achieve such great heights with the franchise. In his first year as captain, CSK missed the playoffs. In 2025, he was injured early in the season and CSK finished last. So far in 2026, CSK have been strictly a mid-table team and are currently placed sixth in the points table with 5 wins and 5 losses from 10 matches.
Now, Sanju Samson has rejected the possibility of being made the captain of CSK and said that he is absolutely fine to play under Gaikwad’s captaincy.
“When you move to a new house you cannot have any demands” – Sanju Samson
Samson was speaking on the Super Kings Podcast, hosted by former CSK and India batsman Abhinav Mukund. The interview was uploaded by the Chennai Super Kings franchise on its YouTube channel.
Mukund asked whether Samson had any ego issues regarding captaincy when he came to CSK. “Have you ever thought about this? [captaincy]? Have you ever thought, ‘I have been the captain for five years, why should I play for someone else now?’,” he asked.
“No,” replied Samson. “Because I already had a team, I was already in a place. So, I wanted to come out there and join another team. So, in that transaction, you can’t really have demands. To be honest, you’re trying to move into a new house. So, when you’re trying to move into a new house, you don’t go in there with demands. I’ve learned to be very honest.”
“You go out there, and you try to prove your worth. You try to behave like that, perform [to your] maximum, and then from there you move on [captaincy],” he continued.
“CSK trusts me, so I can’t go along with the demands” – Samson
Samson spoke about his Malayali roots and said that he has to repay CSK’s trust and does not make any demands. He said that the Malayali community is a loyal group of people who do not indulge in vandalism.
“Let me say one thing Abhinav, wherever I go, I see my people [Malyalis] Working for a long time, be it in Chennai or Dubai. They work for the same people, same company, for about 30-40 years. This is because, if you choose a Malayali to work for you, you are trusting me to work for you, we Malayalis will give our lives to repay that trust. CSK has trusted me and invited me here, so I am ready to give my all here.”
“So that’s how we behave. We are always there to serve the franchise, we are always there to serve the team. I will not come here saying I am Sanju Samson, give me this, give me that. I will definitely try to behave like I am, but I will not come here with demands,” Samson said.
Also read: 3 reasons why Shreyas Iyer and not Sanju Samson should become India’s next T20I captain
“I am happy playing for my captain Ruturaj” – Samson
Sanju Samson continued to talk about his working relationship with the CSK leadership. Be it captain Ruturaj Gaikwad or head coach Stephen Fleming.
“I will play for my team, I will play for my captain Ruturaj [Gaikwad]I will play for my coach Stephen Fleming. I would love to live with Mahi Bhai [MS Dhoni] Wherever possible. Then, I am going to meet him in his room, so, whenever I come here, I try to find time to meet Mahi Bhai. I’m really loving with all my heart, so [for me] It is a matter of great pleasure,” he added.
“So, in sports too, Rutu [Gaikwad] And my friendship can be seen when we are fielding. We both are doing this work together. So, I’m really enjoying it a lot. I am fully involved in decision making, I am also behaving like a leader. it’s all a part [of the game]. You don’t need to do certain things to be a leader. I always do this kind of thing in every team I represent,” he added.