New Delhi: Sanju Samson recently opened up about life at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and credited MS Dhoni for shaping the franchise’s culture and identity. Samson joined CSK in a trade deal from the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 and is getting used to being part of one of the league’s most successful franchises.
Samson, who headed into his debut IPL season with CSK on the back of a dream T20 World Cup campaign for India, revealed that playing for the five-time champions has brought a change in mindset and instilled a sense of responsibility in him. He also opened up on the pressure of representing a successful franchise like CSK, where scrutiny is part of life.
“A very different feeling for me… a very star-studded kind of franchise I’m involved in nowadays. So I feel a bit more responsible. I can’t easily throw away my wicket. Right after you throw away your wicket, you are walking into the airport, and people are like ‘chetta, play more carefully’,” Samson said at an event in a video shared by CSK.
Samson revealed that the nerves have settled and that he is easing into his role at CSK, adapting to the new environment quicker than he had expected.
“So I’m getting very used to being a CSK player and I kind of settled in a bit too quickly I feel. After two weeks I was like everyone is just like me,” said the CSK batter.
Samson led Rajasthan Royals for five seasons from 2021 to 2025 before leaving his former team to join CSK in a trade deal, which saw Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran go the other way. The expectations were high for Samson ahead of IPL 2026, but he has endured a topsy-turvy start to his campaign with the Men in Yellow.
You can feel MS Dhoni in every player, support staff: Samson
Samson credited Dhoni for shaping the identity and the culture at CSK, explaining how his presence is felt everywhere at the franchise. The star wicket-keeper batter said Dhoni’s shades can be seen in the way each player and support staff operate at CSK, insisting that it resonates with him as he himself likes to remain calm and cool irrespective of the situation.
“Being a championship side isn’t about behaving like a champion or being arrogant or something like this. Base values are set by Mahi bhai, and you can actually feel him in each and every team player and support staff. Everyone is behaving very calm and cool. This actually aligns with how I also behave, so I feel very settled here,” said Samson.
Samson has not had the perfect start to his debut campaign at CSK. After three consecutive failures in their first three matches of the season, Samson roared back to form with an unbeaten 115 against the Delhi Capitals and followed it up with a 48-run knock against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
He was dismissed cheaply on 7 again in CSK’s last game against SRH as they suffered their fourth defeat of the season. Samson has so far scored 192 runs in six matches at an average of 38.40 and a strike rate of 174.55 for CSK this season and is currently their second-highest run-getter in the league. His inconsistent returns at the top have played a major role in CSK’s poor start to the season.
The five-time champions are currently sitting in the 8th spot on the IPL 2026 points table with just six points from six matches this season.