Ruturaj Gaikwad Retained as Chennai Captain for Third Straight Season

After long speculation, one of the most successful Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), has made a clear decision regarding their leadership. The team will not appoint Sanju Samson, who joined the squad after the trade window, as captain. Instead, the team’s leadership will remain with young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, despite the disappointments of the last two seasons.

Following the trade window and the announcement of retained and released players, Chennai confirmed that they are retaining Ruturaj as captain. Despite not achieving the desired performance in the last two seasons, the franchise has maintained its faith in him.

Ruturaj was handed the captaincy when MS Dhoni stepped down before the start of the 2024 season, right after winning the title in 2023. In his first season as captain (2024), Chennai finished in fifth place. And last season (2025), the five-time champions finished in last place (10th) among 10 teams, securing only four wins out of 14 matches.

However, Ruturaj was only able to play five matches last season due to injury. His absence clearly impacted the team’s performance.

During the current trade window, Chennai traded Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to the Rajasthan Royals and brought in Sanju Samson for 18 crore rupees. Given Samson’s long-standing captaincy experience with Rajasthan, discussions were rampant in cricket circles that he might be named the next captain.

However, Chennai has once again placed its trust in its own established structure and long-serving players. The 2026 season will mark Ruturaj Gaikwad’s seventh IPL season, having spent his entire career with Chennai.