• Source:JND

CSK Captain For IPL 2026: Chennai Super Kings turned down all the speculations as they confirmed that Ruturaj Gaikwad will continue to lead the franchise in the upcoming IPL 2026. The announcement came a few moments after CSK confirmed their retained and released players ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.

CSK surprised everyone as they brought in Sanju Samson through an all-cash pre-auction trade with the Rajasthan Royals, while letting go of their legendary all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in a high-profile swap transfer. Samson's arrival triggered speculations with the star wicketkeeper-batter being a potential captaincy option.

Samson has performed as RR skipper since 2021. India legend Anil Kumble also told Star Sports that Samson could be a good captaincy option after the retirement of MS Dhoni. Gaikwad is the current CSK skipper. Notably, he took over the role from Dhoni ahead of IPL 2024. Last year, Dhoni resumed captaincy duties, but it was after Gaikwad got injured.

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Taking to X, CSK posted a photo of Gaikwad and captioned it as, "LEAD THE WAY, CAPTAIN RUTURAJ GAIKWAD!"

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Notably, Gaikwad was purchased by CSK at the IPL 2019 Player Auction for ₹20 lakhs. Ahead of the 2022 season, CSK retained him for ₹6 crores. In 71 matches for CSK, he has smacked 2502 runs at a strike rate of 137.47, packed with two tons and 20 fifties. The right-handed batter got his first IPL ton during the 2021 season, with an unbeaten knock of 101 runs against RR. That same season, CSK also won the IPL title, beating KKR in the final. Gaikwad won the Orange Cap and was also named the Emerging Player of the Year.

On the other hand, Samson played for RR in 149 matches, amassing 4027 runs, along with two tons and 23 half-centuries.

Apart from Jadeja, CSK also traded Sam Curran to RR. The five-time champions were left with the second biggest purse for the upcoming IPL 2026 auction after releasing the likes of Rachin Ravindra, Matheesha Pathirana, Devon Conway, Deepak Tripathi, and Deepak Hooda, among others, whereas Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement earlier this year.


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