Mumbai ,mar 17
Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season this year, former South African batter AB de Villiers said that the iconic Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and India ex-captain MS Dhoni need to bat higher up the order. He also added that Sanju Samson, who was traded to the Yellow franchise after a lengthy stint with the Rajasthan Royals (RR), is the right person to take the baton from the batting icon as the franchise’s marquee star.The five-time champions will start their 2026 IPL season against the Rajasthan Royals at Guwahati on March 30. This match will witness the newly-crowned T20 World Cup ‘Player of the Tournament’, Sanju, locking horns against his former franchise. The presence of Samson will be a massive plus for CSK as the wicketkeeper-batter would undoubtedly provide his new team with a lot of intel about a team which he represented for over a decade.Sanju was traded to CSK for his original price of Rs 18 crores, at which RR retained him ahead of the previous season. In turn, CSK gave the inaugural champions two quality all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. Jadeja, who represented the Royals in the formative stages of his career before a lengthy stint under Dhoni and later, Ruturaj Gaikwad with CSK, will have a homecoming this season. However, his price has come down from Rs 18 crores to Rs 14 crores. Curran, however, will be representing RR at his existing fee of Rs 2.4 crores.Speaking on JioStar’s ‘IPL Today Live’, JioStar expert de Villiers spoke on MS’s role over the years with the CSK, saying that by batting way down the order and not captaining the side, he is “almost just making up for a spot for the wrong reasons”. Noting his impact with the bat even as a finisher in recent years, AB opines that the Indian cricketing icon should bat at number six at least and five or four occasionally.”It is very tricky and not straightforward (Dhoni’s role with the CSK over recent years). Brands are built over years, and CSK have built this empire over many years with this MS Dhoni figure that’s always been there. When you mention CSK, you immediately think of Dhoni. I feel that in the last few years, his role has purely been about keeping that brand as strong as possible.
