Ravichandran Ashwin believes it’s only a matter of time before Sanju Samson is promoted to Chennai Super Kings (CSK)’s captaincy. He said he didn’t know when it would happen, but admitted that these calls are ‘narrative’ driven, hinting at CSK seeing Samson as the heir-apparent for the legendary MS Dhoni.
Gaikwad’s path as CSK skipper, following in the footsteps of five-time title-winning Dhoni, was always going to be difficult. Under him, CSK have yet to reach the IPL playoffs, and despite being an important batter, he has remained in Dhoni’s shadow. As a brand, that’s not good for CSK because Dhoni is 44, close to retirement — he’s getting more injury-prone by the day — and has a deep connection with the fanbase.
Samson, traded from the Rajasthan
Royals, brings a similar cult personality to Dhoni. He has more experience than Gaikwad as a captain, having taken the Royals to a final.
“I do see Samson captaining CSK at some stage,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. “Don’t know when, but I do see that happening. Whether we agree or not, a lot of these things do happen with respect to narratives. But I don’t want Sanju to step into anybody’s shoes. You don’t really have to step into anybody’s legacy. He’s got his own unique clothing, which he lives under, and I would like to see his own imprint on it.”
Gaikwad hasn’t helped his case with his poor form this season, while Samson has already won some fans over with his century against the Delhi Capitals. Previously, experts have wondered whether Samson’s presence would threaten Gaikwad, and the case for it seems to be getting stronger.
Is Samson a better captain than Gaikwad?
Ashwin didn’t go into details on who’d be a better captain between Samson and Gaikwad, but spoke highly of the former’s off-field nature.
“Him (Samson) being in a good space allows him to make good calls. He’s had very good days, he’s had ordinary days as well. But the one thing that Sanju does, which I haven’t seen in many leaders, is he is able to take feedback. The second thing that he is good is that he has a humane connection. He would be able to have conversations with players that can be very personal,” Ashwin said.
