Stephen Fleming didn’t sugar-coat it. Sanju Samson’s arrival at Chennai Super Kings is as much about fixing today as it is about planning for tomorrow — a tomorrow that will eventually arrive without MS Dhoni.
CSK doubled down on succession planning ahead of the IPL 2026 auction by making a seismic call: trading franchise icon Ravindra Jadeja to Rajasthan Royals to land Samson, one of India’s premier keeper-batters. Jadeja left Chennai after 200 games in yellow; Samson arrived on November 15 on his existing ₹18 crore deal, instantly becoming one of CSK’s costliest signings ever.
For Fleming, the logic was straightforward.
“The opportunity was there,” he said. “We felt we were still a little bit light in our opening batting. And we were also looking
at the fact that at some point, MS will move on.
“Sanju is an international-quality player. He fills that role very well — succession planning. It’s about refreshing and seeing what Chennai will look like in six years’ time, not two years’ time.”
In other words, this wasn’t a short-term punt. It was a deliberate step away from CSK’s traditional loyalty-first approach toward a future-proofed core.
Crucially, Samson’s exit from Rajasthan wasn’t forced. RR co-owner Manoj Badale revealed that the captain himself asked for a move after a draining IPL 2025 campaign.
“He was personally emotionally drained,” Badale said. “Sanju cares a huge amount about RR, and the season took a lot out of him. After giving the best part of 14 years to the franchise, he felt he needed a new chapter to refresh the end of his IPL journey.”
For Samson, Chennai offers a reset. For CSK, it offers stability, star power, and a long-term answer at the top of the order — and behind the stumps — as Dhoni, now 44, edges closer to the end.
This wasn’t just a trade. It was a statement: CSK are no longer waiting for the future. They’re building it.
