Sanju Samson joining the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was one of the biggest news to have emerged of late regarding the Indian Premier League (IPL).
He was traded to this franchise by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in exchange of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. However, his presence in the squad begs the question – who will keep the wickets for CSK in IPL 2026?
MS Dhoni has traditionally fulfilled the role since the inception of the tournament, but that is also Sanju Samon’s designated spot on the field.
Nothing has been revealed officially just yet, former CSK and India spinner, but R Ashwin has suggested an interesting way to use these wicketkeeper-batsmen effectively.
Ashwin On How CSK Can Use Dhoni-Samson
In a recent interview with journalist Vimal Kumar on Instagram (uploaded on @vimalwa), R Ashwin suggested that Chennai could use Sanju Samson as their main wicketkeeper, and let MS Dhoni play as a pure batsman, brought in as the Impact Player.
“The fact that Jadeja is gone and they don’t have power finishers already, it is probably telling us that Dhoni will continue, and because there is an opportunity for the impact player, Sanju Samson can keep wickets, it is a very good possibility that Dhoni could just play as an impact player, impact batter,“
MS Dhoni has been batting very low down the order for CSK in recent seasons of the IPL, providing quick runs with boundaries.
He also has reportedly been facing issues with his knees for the last few years, which is why having Sanju Samson fulfill the role instead of the veteran can be ideal.
Having said that, fans will have to wait for the tournament to begin to actually see how Chennai put the two players to use. There is still a long time left in IPL 2026, but the auctions are only a month away.
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