IPL: Enter ‘chetta’ Samson, the new batting leader for Chennai Super Kings

Is a Chetta (meaning elder brother in Malayali) rule about to begin in Chennai Super Kings? The speculation is slowly gaining ground as Sanju Samson has found his mojo in the yellow shirt after a tentative start to the season – easing his way to his second century of IPL 2026 as his new team prevailed in the El Clasico of IPL against Mumbai Indians on Thursday.

While the wicketkeeper-batter seems to be carrying on from where he had left off in the T20 World Cup, there is a school of thought which feels Samson has what it takes to be the successor to the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain. The talismanic former skipper is back in the thick of things after a calf strain and is in line to make an appearance in their next away game against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, but social media clips show MSD is happily playing the mentor to the 31-year-old.

The CSK management are known for their aversion to any knee-jerk changes – what with them installing a younger Ruturaj Gaikwad as the new captain from 2024 season. The choice must have had a buy-in from Dhoni but then, that was a phase when the Ravindra Jadeja experiment had failed and it looked worthwhile to invest in an emerging Indian talent like Ruturaj. However, the arrival of Samson has created a viable alternative as he brings in the experience of leading Rajasthan Royals for four seasons between 2021 and 2024.

 In his popular podcast, Ravi Ashwin – who does know a thing or two about the CSK mindset – said: ‘’The mantle passing over, if you ask me, I mean, I’m no astrologer but all I can tell you is I do see Sanju captaining CSK at some stage. Don’t know when, but I do see that happening. The one thing I wouldn’t want to risk upon or don’t want Sanju is him stepping into someone’s shoes. You don’t have to really step into anybody’s legacy. We don’t necessarily need to live like that or play like that.’’

Interestingly enough, Samson combined the demand of batting deep in their innings as well as maintain it’s momentum – a factor which contributed to them reaching a 200-plus total despite none of the other batters managing to cross even the 25-run mark. Asked about it, he attributed to a sense of responsibility: ‘’We actually kept on losing wickets here and there. Whenever we wanted to go big, I think we were losing a few wickets. So, I thought it’s very important for a settled batsman to stay until the end. That's what I tried and that’s what happened today.

‘’The game tells you what to do. You don’t have to come with a preconceived mindset and you don't have to be premeditating, telling yourself this is how I play or this is what I want to do.

‘’With the experience I have, the team definitely comes first. You can say: this is the way I play and that you might get out or you might not, but with the experience and the responsibility shown in me, it is my duty to understand the match situation and what the team demands, putting that first and then planning my game around it,’’ he said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The Kerala man is now third in race for the Orange Cap with 293 runs from seven matches - following Abhishek Sharma (323) and Heinrich Klaasen (320). Irrespective of whether he eventually emerges the topscorer or not, CSK has found the leader of their batting unit.