Sanju Samson Set To Lead THIS TEAM After Getting Ignored For CSK's IPL Captaincy

After joining the Chennai Super Kings, the star wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has witnessed a massive change in fortunes as he has been appointed the captain of the Kerala team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scheduled to kick off on November 26.

Samson had earlier led his state team and will once again don the captain's hat as the squad includes Vignesh Puthura, who was one of the finds of IPL 2025. Mumbai Indians (MI) surprisingly released him before the mini-auction. Samson might not be available for the whole tournament if he is selected in the T20I squad for the South Africa series. He could miss out on making it to the T20I squad if Rishabh Pant returns to the team.

Notably, Jitesh Sharma replaced Samson in the playing XI during the Australia series and looks set to keep his spot in the SA series. Now that Pant is fit, he could make his T20I comeback. The 31-year-old has been at the top of the headlines as he was released by the Rajasthan Royals after eight seasons. He has joined CSK for a whopping price of Rs 18 crore through a trade deal ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.

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Notably, the five-match T20I series between India and South Africa is scheduled to be played from December 9 to 19, while the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be played from November 26 to December 18. Kerala will kick off their campaign against Odisha on the opening day of the tournament.

Sanju Samson to play under Ruturaj Gaikwad in IPL

Samson is all set to play under Ruturaj Gaikwad's captaincy at CSK in the IPL 2026 as the franchise announced no changes in the leadership role amid the heavy speculations. Samson captained RR from IPL 2021 to 2025. Under him, RR played the IPL 2022 final.

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Talking about CSK, the five-time champions had a disappointing campaign last year in the IPL 2025 as they finished last for the first time in the tournament's history.

Expressing his excitement about playing with MS Dhoni at CSK, Samson said, "There’s one person there, everyone knows him. The person is called MS Dhoni. I first met him when I was 19 and got selected in the Indian team for the first time. I went for a UK tour and Mahi Bhai was the captain."

"I saw him for the first time and interacted with him for 10-20 days. After that, I used to see him during the IPL. There will always be a crowd in front of him. Five people here, 10 people there," Samson said. "I used to think, ‘ OK, I can’t meet him here, I will have to meet him separately," Samson added.

The star Indian wicketkeeper-batter thanked fate for permitting him to share a dressing room with the legendary figure of Dhoni and said that he is thrilled to have the opportunity to be around him.

"I had such a desire. Destiny has got me to come and play with him in one dressing room. That couple of months. I am very excited to meet and interact with him. Sit and have breakfast with him, practice with him, play with him," Samson said.