Sanju Samson suffered a painful left hand finger injury on Thursday, 21 May 2026, forcing him to leave the field mid-match during Chennai Super Kings' must-win IPL 2026 clash against the Gujarat Titans. The injury occurred in the second over of the first innings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Left-arm pacer Spencer Johnson fired a 144 km/h delivery down the leg side to Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudharsan. The ball swung late and changed direction unexpectedly after passing the batsman. Stationed down leg, Samson had to adjust his position instantly. He made a full-length diving attempt to stop the boundary, but the ball swerved off-axis and struck his exposed left-hand little finger at extreme speed before racing away for five wides.
Samson was in immense physical pain and immediately dropped his gloves to signal the dugout. CSK’s veteran head physio, Tommy Simsek, rushed to the field. After a brief couple of minutes assessing the finger on the field, the decision was made to take Samson off to the dressing room for an immediate ice pack, protective taping, and scans to check for a potential fracture. Young domestic wicketkeeper Urvil Patel instantly took over the gloves to substitute for Samson. Former cricketers Suresh Raina and Aakash Chopra reacted with complete disbelief on commentary, jokingly branding the franchise "Chotil Super Kings" (Injured Super Kings) due to their horrific luck with fitness this season. Samson joins an alarming, extensive list of injured CSK personnel.
#SanjuSamson in pain after getting hit on the finger. 😟🏏 A swinging delivery from Spencer Johnson crashes into his hand, and Sanju is now walking off the field. Urvil Patel is padding up in his home state. Trouble for CSK. 🔥#GTvCSK #TATAIPL #Ahmedabad #Whistle #CSK pic.twitter.com/bWxOHHd0FV
— lightningspeed (@lightningspeedk) May 21, 2026
Will Sanju Samson be back in second innings?
The Chennai Super Kings medical team has not made a final announcement regarding Sanju Samson’s availability to bat in the second innings. This is because he is CSK's leading run-scorer this season, the medical staff is aggressively treating the left little finger injury in the dressing room with pain management and protective taping, holding out hope that he can bat during the run chase. Unlike wicketkeeping, which places constant impact on the fingertips, batting allows a player to shield a minor finger injury using specialized padding and heavy strapping inside the batting glove.
Gujarat Titans posted a massive 229/4 in their 20 overs, driven by a blazing 84 from Sai Sudharsan and 64 from Shubman Gill. Chasing a formidable target of 230 means CSK is under immense pressure, which might force a heavily strapped Samson to risk walking out to bat if the top-order collapses. If immediate on-site scans reveal a clean bone fracture rather than a severe contusion, team management will likely hold him back to protect him from long-term injury. CSK will be forced to commence this steep 230-run chase without knowing if their anchor can assist them.
