Former South African captain Faf du Plessis feels that Chennai Super Kings made a great decision by signing Sanju Samson before IPL 2026. The 31-year-old had spent 11 of his first 13 IPL seasons with Rajasthan Royals, where he also led the team for the last five years. In a big and surprising trade, CSK sent Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to RR in exchange for Samson.
Samson is coming into the IPL after an amazing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, where he was India’s top scorer with over 320 runs in just five matches and helped the team win the title. Speaking on Star Sports, Faf said that bringing in Samson could help CSK smoothly move on from MS Dhoni in the future.
“In terms of keeping, maybe another 10 years MS Dhoni is going to play, but after that, someone else has to take the gloves eventually. And he would be the guy to do it and just step into that seamlessly,” he stated.
MS Dhoni has been part of Chennai Super Kings since the very first IPL season in 2008 and has led them to five titles. But now at 44, he is past his prime, and the team is likely to start looking at Sanju Samson as their next wicketkeeper.
“CSK’s real ‘superpower’ isn’t what you think – Faf du Plessis spills the truth”
Sanju Samson expresses excitement about playing alongside MS Dhoni in IPL 2026. 🤩💛🏏#IPL2026 #CSK #SanjuSamson #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/nWVTq3slCM
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) March 14, 2026
Faf du Plessis also said that strong opening partnerships have always been a key reason behind Chennai Super Kings’ success, which makes signing Sanju Samson a smart move for the next IPL season. Even though the exact opening pair is not decided yet, the team could have a very strong top order with Samson, Aayush Mhatre, and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
“It’s a really good trade from CSK. If you look at the superpowers over the years for CSK, you think opening pairs. Be it Vijay and Hussey or myself with Watson and Ruturaj, the iconic opening stands. This will be another one of those even with Rutu at 3. But that top three now looks really well balanced in terms of attacking players,” said Faf (via the aforementioned source).
He concluded:
“The game right now is in a state where, in the powerplay, you need to have some canons at your disposal that can really take the game on. So it’s a great signing from a batting perspective.”
Chennai Super Kings are coming off their worst IPL season ever, finishing last in 2025 with just four wins in 14 matches. They have also failed to reach the playoffs in the last two seasons, after winning the title in 2023.
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