Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will begin their IPL 2026 campaign on March 30, when they take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. There was a major reshuffle between these two teams before the IPL 2026 mini-auction. In return Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran were traded by the Men in Yellow to the Royals sanju samson.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes that Samson's presence in the five-time IPL champion team will definitely make a difference. Pathan said Samson, who won the Player of the Tournament award in India's victorious campaign at the 2026 T20 World Cup, knows the Royals better than anyone else.
Apart from the recruitment of Samson, Pathan was particularly excited to see how the youngsters CSK picked up in the mini-auction would perform for them this season.
“Sanju Samson's presence will make a huge difference for CSK because no one knows Rajasthan Royals better than him. From that perspective, you will get the inside information from Sanju about how that team plays, how they think about the powerplay, the middle overs, their mentality and even their bowling,” Pathan said while speaking on Geostar's 'Tata IPL: Schedule Announcement'.
He said, “All the young players of Rajasthan Royals have played with and under Sanju, so he will be a big advantage for CSK, not only in terms of T20 World Cup form, but also the experience of playing in Guwahati will come in handy in the first game. I am very excited to see how CSK is going to perform this season as they have brought in some very exciting young players.”
CSK will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad. On the other hand, Royals have replaced Samson with Riyan Parag. It will be a big challenge for Parag to lead his forces as the Rajasthan-based franchise tries to win its first IPL title since 2008.
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