Former India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Mohammad Kaif has stated that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will continue with Ruturaj Gaikwad as skipper and will not make the mistake of giving this role to Sanju Samson, as he is new to the franchise. Kaif’s remarks come ahead of IPL 2026, which begins on March 28.

On Tuesday, March 17, during a discussion on his YouTube channel, Kaif said that one cannot expect Samson to handle all the responsibilities immediately, but over time, he will step into MS Dhoni’s shoes. He said:

“But I don’t think CSK will make the mistake of giving Sanju Samson the captaincy right now, because he has just joined. You can’t expect him to do everything at once, bat and win matches, keep wickets, and also captain the side. You don’t want to put that entire burden on him. The plan is to slowly let him grow into the role and eventually step into Dhoni’s shoes. That’s the long-term vision.”

The 45-year-old further stated that appointing Samson as captain at this stage would be a mistake, as he does not yet fully understand Chennai’s culture, its fans, and the team dynamics. He said:

“So there won’t be too many changes there. If responsibility has been given to Gaikwad, they won’t rush things. They will back him, and I feel that giving the captaincy to Sanju right now would be the wrong decision. I’ll explain the reason. The reason is that Sanju still doesn’t fully understand Chennai’s culture. He doesn’t yet know the expectations of Chennai’s fans or the dynamics of the players.”

Meanwhile, Gaikwad has captained CSK in 19 matches so far, securing eight wins and suffering 11 losses.

“Sanju will learn after spending a year or two here” – Mohammad Kaif’s huge remark on CSK’s potential future captaincy role

During the same discussion, Mohammad Kaif noted that Ruturaj Gaikwad has been CSK’s captain for some time now, understands how to use his players effectively, and has better knowledge of the Chennai pitch, something Sanju Samson will learn after a year or two. After that, the franchise can consider making the Kerala batter the new skipper. He said:

“Gaikwad has been leading for three to four years. He knows Nathan, like where to use him, when Noor should bowl, when to give him overs, what the batting order should be, and what to do on Chennai pitches after winning the toss. All these finer aspects of the game are things Sanju will learn after spending a year or two here. After that, if you want to hand over the command to him, you can.”

Samson has vast leadership experience, having captained Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 67 matches during his time with the franchise, winning 33, losing 33, with one match ending in a no-result.