“He is the right replacement for MS Dhoni” - Ex-Indian cricketer reveals Dhoni’s replacement at CSK

Former Indian cricketer and analyst Kris Srikkanth feels that the Rajasthan Royals captain, Sanju Samson, should be roped in by the Chennai Super Kings franchise as a like-for-like replacement for MS Dhoni for the IPL 2026 season.

Srikkanth asserted that Dhoni might at maximum play one more IPL season, and CSK needs to come out of the transition period as soon as possible. With Samson already having a huge fan base in Chennai, the former cricketer felt it would be the right replacement. 

"To tell you the truth, Sanju is a brilliant player and he's very popular in Chennai. He's got a good brand image in Chennai. As I said, I'll be the first one to pick him for Chennai if he is willing to leave and comes this side," said Srikkanth in a video on his YouTube channel Cheeky Cheeka.

"He's the right replacement for MS Dhoni. Dhoni can maximum play this season, maybe not the year after, and then you can have a smooth transition," he added.

Furthermore, Srikkanth also felt that Ruturaj Gaikwad should continue to lead the Chennai-based franchise in the upcoming season even if the franchise gets Samson into the squad for the upcoming season. It’s important to note that Gaikwad missed the major part of the IPL 2025 season due to an injury.

"But I feel if Ruturaj Gaikwad has been given the captaincy, he should be continued with," he noted.

As a CSK captain, Dhoni propelled the franchise to a record-equalling five title wins. Moreover, he went on to win two Champions League T20 titles as a captain, which helped the franchise to emerge as one of the popular brands across the globe.

Speaking about his IPL numbers, Dhoni has accumulated 5439 runs in 278 matches at an average of 38.3 with 24 half-centuries at a strike rate of 137.

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