WATCH | Sanju Samson-Ruturaj Gaikwad to Open; CSK Captain Confirms Ahead of IPL 2026

IPL 2026: Chennai Super Kings have confirmed their opening pair amid much speculation. Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad would open. The captain of the Super Kings, Gaikwad, confirmed this. Gaikwad confirmed this at the IPL Captains Meet in Mumbai on Wednesday. There were other options that could have been contemplated - Ayush Mhatre being one of the multiple options. Now if Gaikwad and Samson is opening, Ayush Mhatre could be slotted in at number three, where Urvil Patel would also be an interesting option.

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The Super Kings are a formidable unit. Last season, CSK did not qualify for the playoffs and this year they would like to correct that and go deep in the long-tournament. Being one of the most successful franchises in the history of the league, expectations would be high from the yellow army. 

Spotlight on Samson

Spotlight would be on Samson as he is coming into this side on the back of a dream run at the T20 World Cup. Fans would dearly hope that he can continue his purple patch in yellow. Samson has been training with the CSK camp over the past week and must have got used to the culture as well. The Super Kings would take on Rajasthan Royals in their season opener at the Baraspara ground in Guwahati on March 30. 

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CSK Full squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), M.S. Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brewis, Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel, Anshuil Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Mathew William Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Spencer Johnson, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar.