Sanju Samson denied opening spot at CSK, Ruturaj Gaikwad to open with….

Former India National Cricket Team batsman Aakash Chopra has denied the opening spot to Kerala superstar wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson while selecting the ideal playing XI of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Aakash Chopra stated that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, might be opening the innings with the 18-year-old Ayush Mhatre, who impressed everyone with his performances in his debut Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Sanju Samson traded to CSK from RR

After spending a long time at the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and achieving tremendous success as the captain, Sanju Samson decided to leave the franchise before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

It came as a major surprise to everyone because Sanju Samson was the first choice retention of Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, and the franchise had shown a lot of faith in him over the years.

However, Sanju Samson made up his mind to quit the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and informed the top management of his decision. RR agreed to Samson's request for an exit and traded him to the five-time IPL champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), for INR 18 crore.

In exchange for Samson, Rajasthan Royals (RR) traded in the legendary all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and English all-rounder Sam Curran from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

The best of Samson has come as an opener, whether for RR or Team India - Aakash Chopra

Since Samson has moved to CSK, fans have been left wondering about his batting position in the already stacked line-up of the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side.

Samson's best as a T20 batter has been seen in the opening spot, but he was recently demoted to the middle-order by the Indian team on Shubman Gill's return, and he has now been batting in different positions.

Speaking to JioStar, Aakash Chopra didn't pick Sanju Samson as the opener for CSK and stated that he could bat at No.3 with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and supremely talented youngster Ayush Mhatre opening the innings. He elaborated:

"The big question that they need to answer is if Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson are opening. The best of Samson has come as an opener, whether for RR or Team India."

"For now, we have kept him at number three because Ayush Mhatre has been outstanding in the limited games he has played. If they continue with this, they will still need somebody at number four. Overseas options are available From what we have, we have placed only two overseas players. There's no Matheesha Pathirana, he would've been here. Nathan Ellis can come in place of Pathirana. They need to do something to get a spinner and a middle-order batter there."

Dewald Brevis can go to number four - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra further stated that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) need to address the spin-bowling issues following the exit of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, and need to target the likes of Ravi Bishnoi and Rahul Chahar at the mini auction. He asserted:

"It can be David Miller, Liam Livingstone or even Dewald Brevis can go to number four. In terms of spin, I see Ravi Bishnoi or Rahul Chahar coming into the team because they need spinners. Ravichandran Ashwin retired, Ravindra Jadeja traded. Only Shreyas Gopal and Noor Ahmad right now in their squad as far as spinners are concerned. So, Bishnoi can come in and they have a good purse amount."

Also Read: Pat Cummins set to play Perth Test? Big fitness update issued days before Ashes 2025-26 opener