Sanju Samson's Arrival and Strategic Shifts Signal Major Changes for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2026

The induction of Sanju Samson and a shift in strategy, leading Chennai to spend heavily on Prashant Veer and Karthik Sharma, makes them look different this time.

• Where was Chennai Super Kings last year?

Last place. After losing five consecutive matches and then another four in a row, they managed to win only 4 out of 14 games.

• What's new in IPL 2026?

This is new, but it's also something Chennai has seen before. The arrival of a T20 World Cup-winning wicketkeeper-batter. When they bought MS Dhoni in 2008, this franchise achieved great success both on and off the field, and with the arrival of Sanju Samson in 2026, they will be expecting a similar impact.

The old Chennai had players like Mitchell Santner in the squad, but he was rarely given a chance to play. But this time, there is a plan to directly field a 20-year-old player with only 9 T20 appearances and a 19-year-old with 12 T20 appearances in the playing XI. The purchase of Prashant Veer and Karthik Sharma for 14.2 crore INR each signals a major change in the old way this team operated.

Part of this change began midway through last season when Chennai brought in Ayush Mhatre, who became a World Cup winner after leading India to the Under-19 title, as an opener, and Dewald Brevis as a number 4 or 5 batter. 

Both these positions are crucial from the perspective of innings building and accelerating the pace. Their success and the faith other teams have shown in young talent have brought about this strategic shift. Only time will tell if this brings a trophy.

• Who left, who is under suspicion?

The injury Nathan Ellis sustained on the final day of Australia's One Day Cup season is a big blow. He was supposed to be a reliable player for the team: responsible for playing all 14 games and bowling the tough overs (17 to 20).

Amidst the West Asia crisis, Akeal Hosein, stranded in a hotel with his West Indies team awaiting a flight back home after the World Cup, is likely to join Chennai on March 25.

 Their first match is on March 30. Therefore, he will have very little time to acclimatize to the local environment.

Veer, who couldn't play domestic tournaments in India due to injury, hasn't played any cricket since January, and Karthik hasn't played since December. However, they are currently fully fit, and videos of them hitting big shots are making waves on social media.

Matt Short sustained a finger injury while playing his final Sheffield Shield season game earlier this month, but he has already joined Chennai.

Potential Best 12

1. Sanju Samson, 2. Ayush Mhatre, 3. Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), 4. Shivam Dube, 5. Dewald Brevis*, 6. Karthik Sharma/Sarfaraz Khan, 7. Prashant Veer, 8. MS Dhoni (Wicketkeeper), 9. Jamie Overton*/Ramkrishna Ghosh, 10. Noor Ahmad*, 11. Matt Henry/Akeal Hosein*, 12. Khaleel Ahmed ( * Overseas Players)

• Points to Note

Chennai's bowling. To bring in Samson, they traded Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran with Rajasthan Royals. Veer is expected to fill that void to some extent and is ready to do what Jadeja rarely did - bowl his left-arm spin in the powerplay. 

However, the result of this is very small, and the standard of those games in the UP T20 league cannot be compared to the standard of the tournament he will play in the coming weeks.

Matt Henry, Khaleel Ahmed, and Akeal Hosein might be good options for the new ball, but there is a big concern about who will be the specialist in the final overs. With Matheesha Pathirana having been released, Chennai might save some overs from spinner Noor Ahmad for those death overs.

At one time, they had players with clear roles and skills suited to those roles - Deepak Chahar to handle the powerplay, Jadeja in the middle overs, and Dwayne Bravo to control the pace in the final overs. But now Chennai is in a situation where, especially concerning the bowling attack, their strategy looks like a 'let's try and see what happens' approach.

• Key Statistics

In 2025, Chennai's run-rate in the powerplay was 8.7 and the average was 25.2, the lowest among all teams in the league. Samson's arrival will help improve those figures. He is coming off a 'Player of the Tournament' performance in the T20 World Cup. 

He is already among the top 15 run-scorers in the IPL and is capable of scoring runs freely on both the off-side and leg-side. However, since the 2024 season, his strike rate against spin is slightly lower than his strike rate against fast bowlers (155) at 138.

If Samson provides the solidity Chennai expects, it could have a positive impact on the rest of the batting lineup. Shivam Dube might not have to restrain himself to play long innings. 

He can return to his old aggressive style. His strike rate dropped from 156 in 2022, 158 in 2023, and 162 in 2024, to just 132 in 2025. 

The problems at the top order last season also reduced his performance. This time he might return to his best form.

After playing three consecutive seasons at a strike rate of 120 or less, Dhoni adapted himself to a role where he played 10-12 balls per innings and tried to hit a six off every ball. 

His strike rate was 182 in 2023 and 221 in 2024. But last year, he had to face 145 balls, which is more than the combined total of both 2023 (57) and 2024 (73), and he struggled to maintain a strike rate of only 135. The team will hope that the top five batters of Chennai set a good foundation so that Dhoni can fulfill his old finishing role.

Chennai wasn't too far behind in bowling in the final overs last year. Their economy rate (11) was comparable to the top team - Mumbai Indians (10.14). 

But, can they maintain that level this time?