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Cricket Players‘Sanju Samson could be captain next year’: Brink-hit CSK urged to rethink Ruturaj Gaikwad after poor form
On a tricky Chepauk surface, Ruturaj Gaikwad struggled to 18 off 21 balls as Chennai lost by five wickets in their final home game of IPL 2026
Brink-hit Chennai Super Kings have been urged to rethink their captaincy decision after former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary highlighted the lack of fluency in skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s batting this IPL season.
On a tricky Chepauk surface, Gaikwad struggled to 18 off 21 balls as Chennai lost by five wickets in their final home game of IPL 2026, leaving them on the verge of elimination.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Tiwary admitted that Gaikwad was handed the enormous responsibility of filling MS Dhoni’s shoes after taking over the captaincy in 2024. While acknowledging the challenge, he felt Gaikwad should focus on building his own legacy at the franchise instead.
Tiwary pointed out that Gaikwad’s underwhelming returns this season — 321 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 120.67 — have reflected in his captaincy, which he believes has lacked confidence.
“You said Ruturaj needs to fill his (Dhoni's) shoes. I feel there isn't any shoe of that size yet. He should focus on building his own legacy, and for that, he has to do extensive research on his past matches and identify where he needs to improve, and only after that can he prepare to be a captain next season. A captain can only be positive when he himself is scoring runs. But he isn't scoring runs. He is lacking that fluency,” he said.
Tiwary’s remarks came after the end of the first innings in Chennai, where Gaikwad managed just nine runs off 11 balls in the powerplay, becoming only the second batter this season to fail to hit a boundary during the first six overs.
He may not entirely be out of form — at least his overall tally doesn’t suggest that, considering he remains Chennai’s second-highest run-scorer this season — but his approach has increasingly looked outdated.
For Chennai, the batting template at the top has largely revolved around Sanju Samson playing the aggressor’s role while Gaikwad anchors from the other end. However, in games where Samson has failed to get going, Gaikwad has often refused to shift gears, adding further pressure on Chennai’s batting unit.
Tiwary, a veteran of 98 IPL matches, however, highlighted one positive for Chennai this season — proving that they can still win games without Dhoni.
“As of now, we know CSK can win matches without Dhoni, but if they change the captain, the wicketkeeper, nothing can replace his absence on the field. But rest assured, it has been confirmed that they can win matches without him. They now need to consider how to build the team,” he added.
With Chennai now almost looking ahead to next season after the defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Tiwary reckoned Gaikwad’s captaincy may no longer be safe and suggested the management could hand the role to Samson, who has previously captained Rajasthan Royals and even guided them to an IPL final.
“Let's see if he remains the captain next season, because I feel that Samson is in the fray. And it will be a good decision as well. If Chennai brought him for a specific reason, they might see him as a leader. Gaikwad has been the captain for two seasons, and that's why they extended that period this season. But Samson could be the skipper next year. Irrespective of where they finish, they have to decide, and Samson is the best person because he led RR as well and is a good batsman as well,” he said.
Chennai have now failed to qualify for the playoffs in each of the seasons under Gaikwad. They finished fifth in 2024, bottom of the table in 2025, and currently have only a six per cent chance of making it through in IPL 2026.
