Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered their second consecutive defeat of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season, falling at home to Punjab Kings. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side was also outplayed by Rajasthan Royals (RR) earlier this week in Guwahati. Despite posting 209/5 after being put in to bat, CSK failed to defend the target at the MA Chidambaram Stadium owing to a poor bowling display. The defeat to PBKS has cast doubt on the five-time champions’ credentials to challenge for the title this year.
During a discussion on Cricbuzz, former England captain Michael Vaughan and ex-New Zealand pacer Simon Doull suggested that CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad could be feeling “threatened” by Sanju Samson, citing the Rajasthan Royals captain’s growing leadership credentials.
“What about the captain, Gaikwad? Do you think he feels threatened [by Samson]?” Vaughan asked Doull.
“Absolutely,” Doull replied.
Samson was traded to CSK from Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2026 auction last year. He had previously led RR for five seasons between 2021 and 2025.
“So that’s another kind of dynamic that you’re looking at,” Vaughan added. “[One of the league’s] youngest captains, Gaikwad, he’s done it a bit now and you kind of go, ‘Go on, we’re gonna back you, you’re the captain. But by the way, we’re signing Sanju, who’s a very good captain and he’s a keeper. And guess what? We’ve had a keeper who was a captain for a long period of time and did very well, and we’re gonna try and replace him. But you carry on captaining and hope it doesn’t affect you’.”
Samson has not had the ideal start to his CSK career, registering back-to-back single-digit scores in his first two outings for the new franchise. Doull believes that Samson needs to rediscover the same confidence he showcased during India’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign last month to find his feet in the yellow jersey.
“Tough challenge for him, and it’s one of those situations you find yourself in when you’re not desperate, but when you want to play for a certain side and you want to put on a show. I mean, he is a South boy, isn’t he? He is a Kerala boy. He wants to put on a show. I think he feels like he’s more at home. In the South, the trade happened; it was a big trade as we’ve talked about-you’ve lost two high-quality players for one player. So the pressure’s quite enormous, the pressure of maybe what they see him as in the future as well. But he has just got to think back to a few weeks ago, doesn’t he? And how was he playing in the last three games [in the T20 World Cup],” said Doull.