Out of Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) five wins so far in IPL 2026, Sanju Samson has played a pivotal role in four. Samson has already struck two hundreds in IPL 2026, and showed his class once again on Tuesday with an unbeaten 87 off 52 to steer CSK to victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) in a tricky chase. The knock left several IPL experts raving about Samson, with former Australia captain Aaron Finch delivering the headline praise by labelling him as the superstar that CSK had been missing.
“This is what you’re traded for and the superstar that you’ve been crying out for. So, the fact that he’s batting on a different level is great to see,” said Finch on Samson, speaking on ESPNcricinfo.
“Although he (Samson) had a dream run at the end of the T20 World Cup, there will still be some pride and pressure that you want to get to a new franchise and really lay down a marker and say ‘I’m here’,” Finch added.
Samson was traded in by CSK from Rajasthan Royals (RR) for Rs 18 crore ahead of IPL 2026.
England’s 2019 World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan also lavished praise on Samson:
“I didn’t think his stock could get any higher, but he’s added even more value with this innings. The level of control he brings to the dressing room reflects experience and leadership. He lets his performances do the talking.”
“It was a joy to watch him marshal the run chase like a seasoned player, leading from the front while guiding a youngster like Karthik Sharma at the other end,” Morgan added.
Meanwhile, former India opener Deep Dasgupta remarked on Samson’s consistency.
“This is the version of Sanju Samson we’ve been wanting to see for quite a few years now. So, every season you see a couple of those innings and go ‘wow, what a player!’ but then it would only end up being those couple of innings. But now, starting from the World Cup, he’s been so consistent,” he told ESPNcricinfo.
After 10 matches, Samson has 402 runs at an average of 57.42 and a strike-rate of 167.50.
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