Sanju Samson remains in the center of discussions among cricket fans ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction. It is now strongly believed that the Keeper-batter's stint with Rajasthan Royals (RR) will come to an end soon. There can be interests from multiple IPL franchises for the prolific cricketer.

According to speculations, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has a strong interest in Samson; they can count him as a potential leader and a keeper-batter to replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Netizens are well aware of the series of rumors related to Sanju Samson. Recently, a social media post shared a photo where we can see Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad are in Chennai Super Kings jerseys. Can we believe the photo and the social media post that claimed that Samson in Chennai Super Kings is confirmed?

During the Ranji Trophy 2025, Kerala was up against Maharashtra. Samson was playing for Kerala, and Gaikwad was representing Maharashtra. The match ended in a draw. From the match, Sanju shared the photo in his Instagram story. It was the same photo that is used in the social media post we are talking about. But the difference is in the color of the jerseys.

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Latest Instagram story of Sanju Samson.

The wait is over now it is official.

Captain and Vice Captain of CSK. pic.twitter.com/1NMjERh0hJ

— Dhruv Thakur (@Dhruv_Thakur___) October 18, 2025

Sanju Samson in CSK jersey?

The real photo, which Sanju shared, was taken at the Maharashtra vs. Kerala Ranji Trophy match, where cricketers were in whites. And the photo, shared from the 'X' account, was edited to change the white jersey into CSK colors. So is it true that Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson are in Chennai Super Kings jerseys? As of now, no, they were not together in the cake attire.

 Also, Sanju's IPL future is not confirmed yet. There can be a linkup between the IPL team and the keeper-batter, but currently, nothing is confirmed. To know what is true, it will be best to wait for official confirmations, which can take some time to come. 

Kerala surprised everyone on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy 2025. 0 for 3, 5 for 4, 18 for 5—that's how the Maharashtra vs Kerala match started on Wednesday (October 15). At the end of the day, an emerging bowler named Eden Apple Tom caught everyone again by surprise. Even a settled batter like Ruturaj Gaikwad could not control the pacer's stunning bowling.

Gaikwad was on the verge of scoring a hundred when a moving ball from Tom lashed on his pad. The umpire, without any second thought, declared it out. Ruturaj departed after a well-made, crucial 91-run knock. Kerala skipper Mohammed Azharuddeen introduced Tom late in the day, when the ball started to get rough. The 20-year-old pacer from Pathanamthitta started his spell with a yorker, a swinging yorker, one of the toughest deliveries to bowl. Ruturaj was then on strike.

The ball moved in from outside off, and the right-handed batter somehow was able to defend the ball. It was a picture-perfect yorker. Both Gaikwad and then his batting partner, Jalaj Saxena, batted with extra caution whenever they faced the lethal bowler. 

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Eden apple tom in morning section pic.twitter.com/thQkBVPC2M

— SmithianEra (@Trexsnyder2345) October 15, 2025

Who is Eden Apple, Tom?

The name of the bowler is interesting. About the name Eden Apple Tom, he explained, "My name is Eden. And Apple is my father’s name." Born in July 2005 in the city of Pathanamthitta in south Kerala, Eden soon relocated to Dubai for his father’s job at the airport. In Dubai, the young star began his training in cricket. Later, when he returned to India, Tom grabbed attention from some of the cricket experts.

Eden made his first-class debut against Meghalaya in the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy and played a match-winning role while picking six wickets. But a stress fracture on his back kept him away from cricket for an entire season. After recovering from injury, he tried to get back on track according to his actual potential. 

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has already started their preparations for the upcoming Indian Premier League season (IPL 2026). They are definitely going to make a few signings from the mini auction table. But what about the captaincy? Who will lead the team during IPL 2026? 

As of now, Ruturaj Gaikwad is the captain of the multi-time IPL-winning franchise. But is he capable enough to lead CSK from the front? Last season he played only 5 matches before being knocked out of the tournament due to injury. In those five matches, the batter scored 122 runs in 5 innings at an average of 24.40. He smashed two half centuries as well. His ability to anchor the innings and accelerate when required made him one of the most reliable cricketers of the format. 

According to some of the latest claims, the CSK management can take a look at his captaincy as well. It was claimed that Gaikwad's captaincy may have been under scrutiny. But, at this point, who can be considered as the captain in place of Gaikwad? Last season when Ruturaj was out of the campaign due to injury, MS Dhoni again took over the charge and led the team. Though, that did not help the team to recover from the bad patch. 

Read More: Babar Azam to bid farewell to Tests after Virat Kohli? Failing Pakistan star faces scrutiny

Who will be the captain of CSK for IPL 2026?

Chennai Super Kings finished the season as the worst team of the campaign. They accumulated only 8 points from 4 wins in 14 matches. They were the 10th team in the points table of the 10-team tournament. Despite those devastating stats, CSK made some positive moves as well by signing the young players like Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis. Which reflected their desire to invest in the young prospect.

As of now, it is unlikely to see MS Dhoni back in the captaincy. But there are chances to see changes in the leadership role. Some of the young prospects from the squad can be handed over the vice captaincy role. 

The former Indian opening batter, Aakash Chopra, has been surprised at the absence of Ruturaj Gaikwad from the India A squad against Australia in the unofficial Test and ODI series at home. He laments that the Chennai Super Kings’ captain’s name has been lost in a vast emerging pool of batting talent.

Gaikwad was in great form recently with a century during the Buchi Babu Tournament before nailing a fine knock of 184 runs for the West Zone against Central Zone during the Duleep Trophy 2025 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. He couldn’t play the IPL 2025 for the Chennai Super Kings due to injury.

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“The question is extremely important because he has scored runs. I agree he was injured for some time. However, he scored runs in the Duleep Trophy as well, where Rajat Patidar also scored runs. It’s praiseworthy that two back-to-back IPL-winning captains lifted domestic trophies as well.” Chopra expressed in a video on his YouTube channel.

Aakash Chopra surprised at Ruturaj Gaikwad’s absence from India A squad against Australia

Chopra highlighted the T20I century against Australia of Gaikwad and the latter’s leadership skills during India’s Asia Games campaign two years ago. After missing out on the India A games, the veteran is anticipated to return in action through the Ranji Trophy 2025/26 for Maharashtra, starting on October 15.

“Shreyas Iyer did that, and Rajat Patidar has also done it. It seems like captaincy is suiting Rajat Patidar. Coming to Ruturaj Gaikwad, he scored a century against Australia in Guwahati and is a technically compact player. He was the captain in the Asian Games. We won the Asian Games under Ruturaj’s captaincy. He is a very good player.” Chopra added in the video.

“It’s a slight travesty that your name gets lost among so many names. However, I can understand the Indian selection, but I feel it’s not right if his name doesn’t come for India-A both in multi-day and one-day. He is too good a player to actually miss out completely on every single thing. That is what I feel.” The former Indian opening batter concluded.

On the opening day of the semifinal round in the Duleep Trophy 2025, South Zone enjoyed a fine time with the bat thanks to the unbeaten 148-run knock from Narayan Jagadeesan and a half-century from Devdutt Padikkal. On the other hand, West Zone smashed 363/6 with Ruturaj Gaikwad clubbing 184 against Central Zone at the two grounds of the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. 

South Zone stretched their fantastic batting from the opening day and got bundled out for 536 runs in 169.2 overs to end the second day’s play. Narayan Jagadeesan extended their knock of 197 runs in 352 balls with the help of 16 boundaries and a couple of sixes before getting run out.

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Ricky Bhui celebrated a fine half-century and ended with 54 runs in 131 balls, thanks to three boundaries and two sixes. At number three, Tanay Thyagarajan drilled 58 runs in 116 balls, shouldering on four boundaries as they got bundled out for 536. Nishant Sindhu, who had a long bowling of 47.2 overs, picked up five wickets in the innings.  

Duleep Trophy 2025 Semifinal Round: All Scores from Day 2

West Zone, on the other hand, ended with 438 runs in the first innings. It was a fabulous batting show from them after being reduced to 10/2 in the fourth over. Tanush Kotian ended with 76 runs in 166 balls at a strike rate of 45.68 with six boundaries.

Captain of the West Zone, the pace bowling all-rounder, Shardul Thalur, creamed 64 runs in 98 balls to take them to 438 runs in 108 overs. In reply, Central Zone displayed a great batting show with 229/2 with all of the batsmen crossing the 40-run mark. Danish Malewar ended with 76 runs while Shubham Sharma remained unbeaten on 60 runs in 148 balls. They still trail by 209 runs in the second innings of the fixture.

Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal Round: All Scores from Day 2

South Zone- 536/10 (Narayan Jagadeesan 197, Tanay Thyagarajan 58, Ricky Bhu 54, Nishant Sindhu 5/125) against North Zone

Central Zone- 229/2 (Danish Malewar 76, Shubham Sharma 60*, Arzan Nagwaswalla 1/15) trail West Zone 438/10 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 184, Tanush Kotian 76, Shardul Thakur 64, Saransh Jain 3/121) by 209 runs.

The Indian opener and the captain of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) from the Indian Premier League (IPL), Ruturaj Gaikwad, has replied to MS Dhoni’s comment on the franchise’s batting future ahead of the 2026 edition. Dhoni, during the previous season, felt that the Super Kings didn’t have much skill and fire in the batting department.

Chennai Super Kings finished at the bottom of the points table with just four wins in 14 encounters at a net run rate of -0.647. They started with just one win in the first six games before earning just two victories in the last seven games of the group stage of the competition.

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“From him, the support was always there - There was nothing to be shy about & obviously, you know, me missing that tournament and then later on having some replacements (Ayush, Urvil, Brevis) - It really strengthened the squad & then obviously, me joining back again would really strengthen it again. So, I feel that is what he said.” Ruturaj Gaikwad answered on Dhoni’s comment before IPL 2026.

Ruturaj Gaikwad confident of CSK’s developed batting during IPL 2026

The leading run-getter of the IPL for the CSK side was Shivam Dube, who sat at the 23rd rank. The left-handed batter clubbed 357 runs in 14 innings at an average of 32.45 and a strike rate of 132.22 with the help of one half-century at the best score of 50. Only he and Ravindra Jadeja crossed the 300-run mark for Chennai in IPL 2025.

The Maharashtra captain believes that his return to the opening position for the franchise will make it even stronger. On the other hand, he also spoke about his good preparation after not being part of the Indian team during the Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“I had a good time to prepare, especially after not being part of the India A series, and then after that coming back, I decided to work on my red ball game, give it some amount of time, and obviously still working on it, still a long way to go.” The opening and veteran batter of the five-time champions addressed during a recent interaction. 

During the semifinal round of the Duleep Trophy 2025, West Zone locked horns with Central at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground B in Bengaluru. On the other hand, South Zone met North Zone during the first semifinal at the A-ground in Bengaluru. Some of the stars of the Indian Test team turned up for the action in the middle. 

West Zone’s captain, Shardul Thakur, won the toss and decided to bat first on the solid batting surface. He would have thought of changing the decision when they found themselves 10/2 in the fourth ball. But Ruturaj Gaikwad held the ship, and by the time he ended with 184 runs in 206 balls, they were in a great spot.

See Also: Star KKR batter celebrates century during Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal

At number, Aarya Desai contributed with 39 runs. Tanush Kotian, who remained unbeaten on 65 runs by the end of the opening day’s play with 65 runs in 121 balls, thanks to five boundaries at a strike rate of 53.72, put up a fine partnership of 148 runs for the sixth wicket as they ended the day with 363/6 in 87 overs.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Semifinal Round: All Scores from Day 1

It felt like an absolutely different surface for the contest between the South Zone and the North Zone. Ankit Kumar won the toss and decided to put South in. They made two changes to the side from the quarter-finals as Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh made way out due to their national commitment to the Asia Cup 2025.

The 103-run opening stand between Tanmay Agarwal and wicket-keeper Narayan Jagadeesan provided them a fine platform. The latter stayed undefeated for 148 runs in 260 balls at a strike rate of 56.92, thanks to 13 boundaries and a couple of sixes. The number four batter, Devdutt Padikkal, drilled 57 runs in 71 balls with seven boundaries.

South Zone ended the opening day with 297/3 in 81 overs. The two wickets came from Nishant Sindhu as South Zone will aim to continue the same dominance with the bat and end with a huge score on the board.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Semifinal Round: All Scores from Day 1

South Zone- 297/3 (N Jagadeesan 148*, Devdutt Padikkal 57, Nishant Sindhu 2/59) vs North Zone.

West Zone- 363/6 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 184, Tanush Kotian 65*, Saransh Jain 2/109) vs Central Zone.

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was omitted from India’s 15-member squad of the Asia Cup 2025 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has knocked on the door of the selectors with another fabulous milestone during the semifinal of the Duleep Trophy 2025 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground B in Bengaluru.

Playing for the West Zone, Gaikwad was slotted at number four. They lost their Indian opening batter, Yashasvi Jaiswal, for just four runs in three balls with one boundary as they lost the southpaw on the third ball of the innings. Their wicket-keeper, Harvik Desai, returned with just one run in four balls.

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At number four, Gaikwad celebrated a fine half-century. He held the attack on their own, initially weathering the lively Khaleed-Deepak Chahar attack with the new ball before crashing in against the spinners as they took West Zone to 116/3 in the first lunch break of the semifinal contest. He later went on to celebrate his century. When the score was last updated, the right-handed batter was on unbeaten 121 in 157 balls, thanks to 16 boundaries. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad celebrates a half-century for West Zone during Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal

Under cloudy skies, the left-arm CSK pacer, Khaleel, got his revenge against Jaiswal just two balls after being clipped for a four through the square leg region. The batter played all around the nip-backer in front to get trapped before the stumps. Chahar got Desai caught at first slip. But Ruturaj was steady at the crease. He played and missed a few balls but looked solid against the spinners.

Forty-three of Gaikwad’s 55 runs came against the spinners before heading to the break. It was a vital knock from the right-handed Maharashtra batter, who celebrated a century during the recently concluded Buchi Babu Trophy 2025 after missing the biggest chunk of the IPL due to injury. He got 122 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 150.61.

It will be important for Gaikwad to continue the same form and rhythm before the start of the Ranji Trophy 2025. If he can do well, then it will be a chance for him to break into the Indian side. Anyway, they need a few players in the middle order after the poor returns from the five-match Test series against England in the UK.

The invitational red-ball tournament, called the Buchi Babu Trophy, has reached its third round for the 2025 season of the event. For several years, it served as a great opportunity for the players to get the best platform to polish themselves before the Duleep Trophy and the domestic season of the tournament. A few players didn’t participate in the first day after the third day clashes with the start of the Duleep Trophy 2025.

Prithvi Shaw, who smashed a fine century during the first round of the tournament for Maharashtra, didn’t turn up for the game. However, there were a few stars like Sarfaraz Khan and Ruturaj Gaikwad, both of whom celebrated their respective centuries to keep the best form before the domestic red-ball season.

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Musheer Khan got another start, but the promising batter failed to convert it into a huge score. After his scores of 30 and nine in the first round, opening the batting, he fell for another 30 against Haryana in the third round. Gaikwad fell for 133 while Sarfaraz finished with the respective knock of 111 runs.

Buchi Babu Trophy 2025 Round 3: All Scores from Day 1

The all-rounder of the Hyderabad side, Rohith Rayudu, picked up a five-wicket haul. His fine figures of 5/44 were instrumental in bowling out Madhya Pradesh for 181 runs in the first innings on the opening day of the third round. Bengal bowled out the TNCA XI for 203 runs in the first innings, on Rahul Prasad’s 5/44. Bengal lost four wickets as Abhishek Porel walked out to bat at number six.

The Kolkata Knight Riders pacer, Umran Malik, who couldn’t play the last IPL due to injury, turned up for Jammu Kashmir and picked up two wickets in his fiery spell of nine overs. Ashwin Kulkani, the seam-bowling all-rounder from Maharashtra, who played the U19 World Cup 2024, also celebrated a century.

Buchi Babu Trophy 2025 Round 3: All Scores from Day 1

TNCA President's XI 266 vs Chhatisgarh 4-0
TNCA XI 203 vs Bengal 58-4
Mumbai 346-9 vs Haryana
Indian Railways 184 vs Baroda 76-3
Madhya Pradesh 181 vs Hyderabad 155-1
Jharkhand 366-8 vs Punjab
Odisha CA 314 vs Jammu & Kashmir
Maharashtra 440 vs Himachal Pradesh

The captain of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) from the Indian Premier League (IPL), Ruturaj Gaikwad, is currently playing for the Maharashtra side in the third round of the Buchi Babu Trophy 2025 in Tamil Nadu. The 27-year-old batter didn’t celebrate his century for the state side against Himachal Pradesh at the TI Murugappa ground.

Coming out to bat at the number three position, in the absence of their opening batter, Prithvi Shaw, Gaikwad crossed the 100-run mark in just 122 balls. At the end of the 63 overs in their innings with the bat, the veteran was on 104 runs in just 131 balls as he had hammered 10 boundaries.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad just timed the ball into the cover region and went for a single, and didn’t celebrate the century. It felt like a relief for the batter, who perhaps had the monkey off his back. The experienced campaigner, who has already featured in six ODIs and 23 T20Is for India, played in his first match of the event and returned with low scores of one and 11 runs against Chhattisgarh.

Watch: Ruturaj Gaikwad refuses to celebrate century during Buchi Babu Trophy 2025 

Gaikwad missed the lion’s share of the IPL 2025 for the CSK franchise after he picked up a wrist injury. In his absence, the former captain and wicket-keeper batter of the side, MS Dhoni, led the side. Gaikwad’s last game for the national side came in July against Zimbabwe.

Bro didn't celebrate his century 😭 pic.twitter.com/iXmMrGGCVD

— ` (@WorshipDhoni) August 26, 2025

The Chennai opening batter has already smacked 2502 runs in 70 innings of the IPL at an average of 40.35 and a strike rate of 137.47, with the help of 20 half-centuries and two centuries at the best score of unbeaten 108 runs. The yellow franchise will be hoping to get back the opening batter in the side before the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

In the other game, Sarfaraz Khan smashed 92 runs in 92 balls at the end of 62 overs in Mumbai’s first innings during their encounter against Haryana, with the help of eight boundaries and four sixes. The Duleep Trophy 2025 will begin in Bengaluru from August 28, where many skillful players will feature for the zonal teams.