Sanju Samson to Open, MS Dhoni at No. 7: R. Ashwin Picks His Best CSK Playing XI For IPL 2026

IPL 2026: With Sanju Samson in the mix, the Chennai Super Kings will now find themselves in a dilemma while picking their best XI for IPL 2026. Where does Samson bat, will he open and if that is the case; what happens to Ayush Mhatre and Ruturaj Gaikwad? Also, where will MS Dhoni bat? Former CSK star R. Ashwin has solved the puzzle. As per Ashwin, Samson should open with Mhatre and Dhoni should play at No. 7. 

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Samson Opens, MS at No. 7

As per Ashwin, Samson should open with Mhatre and Dhoni should play at No. 7. Ashwin has backed captain Ruturaj Gaikwad to occupy the crucial No. 3 spot, while he placed Shivam Dube after him. Ashwin reckons Dewald Brevis and Prashant Veer will be CSK's No. 5 and 6. Ashwin also feels CSK can only pick one from Matt Henry or Akeal Hossein. The rest could be Nathan Ellis, Khaleel Ahmed, and Noor Ahmad and then they have to pick one from - Anshul Kamboj, Karthik Sharma, Shreyas Gopal, or Sarfaraz Khan - this will depend on conditions and the toss. 

CSK look a formidable unit. They would look to do well in 2026 after a forgetful 2025 season in which they could not even make the playoff. There are talks that the 2026 season could be Dhoni's last at the IPL. 

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CSK Squad for IPL 2026: MS Dhoni (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brewis, Shivam Dube, Urvil Patel, Noor Ahmad, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Khaleel Ahmed, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Jamie Overton, Gurjapneet Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma (wk), Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes

IPL 2026 is set to start from March 26.