Sanju Samson to Lead CSK? Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad's Injury Likely to Rule Him Out of Today's IPL 2026 Match vs GT

CSK vs GT, IPL 2026: Will Ruturaj Gaikwad feature in today's IPL 2026 game against Gujarat? And if he does not, will Sanju Samson lead the side? There is much speculation and suspense around the CSK side as multiple reports claim that captain Gaikwad is going to be missing the clash. If that is true and former CSK captain MS Dhoni is also unavailable - the Samson gets the chance. But again, Gaikwad is traveling with the team and hence it is difficult to draw a conclusion here. 

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Samson to Lead CSK Today? 

Ahead of the game, Pommie Mbangwa reckoned the same.

Mbangwa said on Cricbuzz, “The news is that Ruturaj Gaikwad is not going to be available. Injury and so forth. So that's the first part of things as far as CSK are concerned: who captains? Going through a tough time. So that means there's a whole story to sort out."

He added: "It might just be that Sanju captains and keeps and looks off to the side, waiting for Ruturaj to get back. He's in fine form. Always good watching him back. Good that he's carried the form through from the T20 World Cup. As far as you know who replaces whom and who comes in. The big question is always going to be, and it has been through the course of the season.”

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What About Dhoni? 

There is too much confusion around the Dhoni scenario. Most claim that he is fully fit, yet it is understood that he is reluctant to play the game as he does not want to disturb the winning combination. It is going to beb interesting to see what eventually happens - he plays or he does not. At home, CSK start slight favourites.