Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has confirmed that he will return to opening the innings with Sanju Samson in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The five-time champions are trying a new opening pair and have chosen experienced players instead of youngsters like Ayush Mhatre and Sarfaraz Khan.
CSK struggled badly with their opening combination in IPL 2025. At the start, Gaikwad batted at No. 3 while the team tried different openers like Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, and Devon Conway, but none of the combinations worked well. Later, the team gave a chance to Ayush Mhatre as an opener after he joined as an injury replacement.
Now, after releasing Conway, Tripathi, and Ravindra, and bringing in Sarfaraz Khan and Sanju Samson, CSK have more options to try different combinations. During the IPL 2026 captains’ meet in Mumbai, when Gaikwad was asked about the opening pair, he responded after being given a few options.
“Rutu and Sanju.” (via Star Sports).
From the skipper himself 👀@Ruutu1331 reveals CSK’s opening pair at #CaptainsDay 🏏#TATAIPL 2026 👉 Starts 28 Mar, 5:30 PM pic.twitter.com/xOhS4GOmUC
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 26, 2026
Sanju Samson is coming into IPL 2026 after a great run as an opener for Team India in the 2026 T20 World Cup. The wicketkeeper-batter had been opening for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in recent seasons, but in IPL 2025, he moved down to No. 3 because of the strong performances by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Ruturaj Gaikwad shines more as an opener compared to No. 3 in IPL
Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad started his IPL career in the middle order, but moving up to open the innings completely changed his career. After winning the Orange Cap in 2021, he became the team’s regular opener for the long term.
However, after becoming captain, he often batted at No. 3 during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. In eight innings at that position, he scored 208 runs at an average of 26 and a strike rate of around 152.
On the other hand, as an opener, he has been much more successful, scoring 2289 runs in 60 matches at an average of 44 and a strike rate close to 137. His last innings as an opener came in a must-win league match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), where he got out for a golden duck.
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