MS Dhoni and Sanju Samson | Image:
BCCI/IPL
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have a lot of problems to address, and they only have themselves to blame for it. The Chennai-based franchise has failed to find MS Dhoni’s replacement despite the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman being in the last phase of his cricketing career. Chennai did have a chance of roping in a few star players in the IPL 2025 mega auctions, but few of the picks that they made resulted in them finishing at the bottom of the IPL 2025 points table.
With four wins from 10 matches and a poor Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.647, Chennai Super Kings had a season to forget. Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, too had a very dismal IPL 2025 campaign. The Royals ended their campaign in the ninth spot, and they won as many games as the Chennai Super Kings. In order to turn their fortunes around, both these teams will have to build their squad from scratch, but it will be difficult considering the fact that the Mega Auction is already behind them.
Krishnamachari Srikkanth Roots for Sanju Samson to Go to CSK
Various reports of Sanju Samson exiting Rajasthan Royals are doing the rounds on social media. If Rajasthan do not retain Sanju, then it will mark an end of their decade-old association, which has been fabulous in every way. Former India cricketer and winner of the 1983 World Cup, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, feels that Samson might be the right choice for replacing MS Dhoni in Chennai Super Kings.
“He’s the right replacement for MS Dhoni. Dhoni can maximum play this season, maybe not the year after, and then you can have a smooth transition. To tell you the truth, Sanju is a brilliant player and he’s very popular in Chennai. He’s got a good brand image in Chennai. As I said, I’ll be the first one to pick him for Chennai,” said Srikkanth.
Big Suspense Around Dhoni’s IPL 2026 Ambitions
Will MS Dhoni play the IPL one more time? This has continued to be the biggest question ahead of each and every IPL season. After Chennai’s dismal show last year, MS Dhoni was particularly asked if he will play the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League. Dhoni continued to remain tight-lipped, and he said that he will let his body decide and then take a call for the next season.