Sanju Samson's 1st Match vs RR In IPL 2026 Ends In Disappointment As CSK Batting Disappoint

For long, Sanju Samson was synonymous with Rajasthan Royals. He began his IPL career with the franchise and then went on to become its captain. However, after the 2025 season, things changed and Samson moved to Chennai Super Kings. Sanju Samson was arguably the face of Rajasthan Royals - much like MS Dhoni with Chennai Super Kings or Virat Kohli with Royal Challengers Bengaluru - and his departure is a significant moment for the franchise given the impact he had, says former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis.

Samson spent 11 seasons with Rajasthan Royals across two stints, emerging as their most-capped player and leading run-scorer. He was traded to Chennai Super Kings, with Ravindra Jadeja joining the Royals' ranks.

However, Samson's return to face RR did not go as planned, as he was dismissed for 6 off seven balls.

Sanju Samson dismissed on 6 in 7 balls in debut match for CSK. pic.twitter.com/yyhHz1HaQ3

— Cricket Central (@CricketCentrl) March 30, 2026

Sanju Samson #rrvscsk pic.twitter.com/6nDtPByeeu

— SAURABH KHATANA (@SaurabhKhatana0) March 30, 2026

Sanju Samson - 6(7)
Ruturaj Gaikwad - 6(11) pic.twitter.com/inBsa6tXpF

— CRICKET FACT🏏 (@pintumeena25) March 30, 2026

For the first time since 2020 Sanju Samson has been dismissed without a 50plus score in his first match of an IPL season.
74 (32) vs CSK, 2020
119 (63) vs PBKS, 2021
55 (27) vs SRH, 2022
55 (32) vs SRH, 2023
82* (52) vs LSG, 2024
66 (37) vs SRH, 2025
6 (7) vs RR, 2026*#CSK pic.twitter.com/e3M3clR6QU

— statsXplorer 📈🔎 (@StatsXplorer) March 30, 2026

"If I look at the IPL and the iconic teams we see around the league, all of them have one marquee Indian player in common - someone who has been the face of the franchise for a period of time, such as Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli. Sanju Samson, for me, was that guy at Rajasthan Royals," Faf du Plessis told JioHotstar.

"Yes, he's of a newer generation, but he had become the face of that franchise. If I think of Rajasthan Royals, I think Sanju Samson. So the fact that they've lost that face is a massive thing for the fans, for the IPL and for the tournament, because he's played such a big role there," added du Plessis.

He said Samson's departure would place added responsibility on Yashasvi Jaiswal, who previously had the freedom to play his natural game alongside the former RR skipper.

"The thing with Yashasvi Jaiswal is that he's had Sanju Samson, who has been such a huge, consistent performer within that batting line-up. When you have that consistency of runs from Sanju, it allows you to play your game," du Plessis said.

"Now, you take that away and, all of a sudden, people will look at him with more responsibility. For a player like him, you don't want him thinking about responsibility. You want him thinking, 'I want to take the game on. I want to hit as many sixes as possible.'

"There's a learning curve that's going to come into his career this season: 'Am I true to the game that I've always played, or do I take up the senior player's role to score the bulk of the runs?' So it'll be interesting to see how that goes. I think he'll still play the way that he does. It would be silly not to, because he's such an attacking player."

Former India pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji said he was surprised by the Royals' decision to appoint Riyan Parag as captain, despite the presence of more experienced players such as Jaiswal, veteran India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, and England's Sam Curran

Topics mentioned in this article

Chennai Super Kings Rajasthan Royals IPL 2026 Sanju Samson Cricket