{"id":1021,"date":"2025-11-11T15:32:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T10:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/?p=1021"},"modified":"2025-11-11T15:32:43","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T10:02:43","slug":"will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Sanju Samson Replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as CSK\u2019s Captain in IPL 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The most recent news implies that Sanju Samson<\/a><\/strong> is nearly certain to change teams from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which raises the big question who will be the captain of IPL 2026, and if he will replace Ruturaj Gaikwad<\/a><\/strong>? The reports are suggesting that the trade is practically done: Sanju to CSK, while Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran will be heading to RR.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gaikwad holds the CSK captain’s title, a post he was appointed to before the 2024 season and which he has held during 2025. Nevertheless, talks about the leadership have grown louder, especially due to CSK’s disappointing 2025 season, their upcoming rebuilding phase and the potential of Sanju being part of the team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, former Indian spinner R. Ashwin<\/strong> said that even in case the trade goes through, he does not foresee Sanju being made the captain right away, implying that Gaikwad might be allowed to carry on for 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is behind Sanju’s coming that the question is being raised? Besides his talent and the leading he provided at RR, he has been nominated by the experts as a quite likely long-term replacement for CSK greats like MS Dhoni. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Also read: IPL 2026: Who Will Be Rajasthan Royals\u2019 Next Captain After Sanju Samson\u2019s Exit?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Kris Srikkanth recently referred to Sanju as the \u201cideal Dhoni successor\u201d<\/strong> rather than Gaikwad. So when the nearly certain trade scenario is considered, that is, Sanju going to CSK, while Jadeja and Curran going to RR, the question of a change in captaincy naturally arises.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there are strong reasons for Gaikwad to be kept as captain for the time being. The club\u2019s internal stability, his current leadership position, and the fact that CSK management may not want to make a captaincy change immediately for the sake of continuity all support him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, giving Sanju the captaincy right away might cause disorder because of the new environment, new team dynamics, plus waiting for player roles and integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To sum it all up: the trade seems very likely, and Sanju’s transition to CSK is almost certain, but not necessarily changes in leadership. It looks like Gaikwad has strong chances to remain IPL 2026’s captain, <\/strong>at least for the short run while Sanju is regarded as the future leader. CSK management\u2019s decision will probably depend on the announcement of the trade, how Sanju acclimatizes and whether the team prefers a gradual or an abrupt change in the leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the trade is confirmed in the next 48 hours as quite a few reports claim, then the attention will be immediately on the captaincy announcement. For the time being, the response to the title question is: Maybe but not right away.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Written By:- Manjunath S<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most recent news implies that Sanju Samson is nearly certain to change teams from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which raises the big question who will be the captain of IPL 2026, and if he will replace Ruturaj Gaikwad? The reports are suggesting that the trade is practically done: Sanju to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,15],"tags":[88,90,92,209,198],"class_list":["post-1021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-cricket-news","category-latest-news","tag-cricket","tag-cricket-news","tag-latest-cricket-news","tag-ruturaj-gaikwad","tag-sanju-samson"],"yoast_head":"\nWill Sanju Samson Replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as CSK\u2019s Captain in IPL 2026?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The most recent news implies that Sanju Samson is nearly certain to change teams from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to Chennai Super Kings (CSK)\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Will Sanju Samson Replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as CSK\u2019s Captain in IPL 2026?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The most recent news implies that Sanju Samson is nearly certain to change teams from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to Chennai Super Kings (CSK)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trade brains Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-11T10:02:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-11T10:02:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tradebrains-wp.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sanju-samson-and-ruturaj-gaikwad.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"854\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sports Editorial\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sports Editorial\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/\",\"name\":\"Will Sanju Samson Replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as CSK\u2019s Captain in IPL 2026?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains-wp.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sanju-samson-and-ruturaj-gaikwad.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-11T10:02:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-11T10:02:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/#\/schema\/person\/72f0f004c30a9c62e9ee72bb02951c3f\"},\"description\":\"The most recent news implies that Sanju Samson is nearly certain to change teams from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to Chennai Super Kings (CSK)\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains-wp.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sanju-samson-and-ruturaj-gaikwad.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains-wp.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sanju-samson-and-ruturaj-gaikwad.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":854},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Will Sanju Samson Replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as CSK\u2019s Captain in IPL 2026?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/\",\"name\":\"Trade brains Sports\",\"description\":\"Latest and Trending News on Sports\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/#\/schema\/person\/72f0f004c30a9c62e9ee72bb02951c3f\",\"name\":\"Sports Editorial\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/author\/sports-editorial\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Will Sanju Samson Replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as CSK\u2019s Captain in IPL 2026?","description":"The most recent news implies that Sanju Samson is nearly certain to change teams from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to Chennai Super Kings (CSK)","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Will Sanju Samson Replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as CSK\u2019s Captain in IPL 2026?","og_description":"The most recent news implies that Sanju Samson is nearly certain to change teams from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to Chennai Super Kings (CSK)","og_url":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/","og_site_name":"Trade brains Sports","article_published_time":"2025-11-11T10:02:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-11T10:02:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":854,"url":"https:\/\/tradebrains-wp.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sanju-samson-and-ruturaj-gaikwad.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sports Editorial","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sports Editorial","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/","name":"Will Sanju Samson Replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as CSK\u2019s Captain in IPL 2026?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tradebrains-wp.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sanju-samson-and-ruturaj-gaikwad.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-11T10:02:40+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-11T10:02:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/#\/schema\/person\/72f0f004c30a9c62e9ee72bb02951c3f"},"description":"The most recent news implies that Sanju Samson is nearly certain to change teams from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to Chennai Super Kings (CSK)","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tradebrains-wp.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sanju-samson-and-ruturaj-gaikwad.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tradebrains-wp.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sanju-samson-and-ruturaj-gaikwad.jpg","width":1280,"height":854},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/will-sanju-samson-replace-ruturaj-gaikwad-as-csks-captain-in-ipl-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Will Sanju Samson Replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as CSK\u2019s Captain in IPL 2026?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/","name":"Trade brains Sports","description":"Latest and Trending News on Sports","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/#\/schema\/person\/72f0f004c30a9c62e9ee72bb02951c3f","name":"Sports Editorial","url":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/author\/sports-editorial\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1021"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1023,"href":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021\/revisions\/1023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}