Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has confirmed the opening pair for the IPL 2026. In the last season, the 29-year-old moved down to number three to make room for Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. This year, Gaikwad confirmed to be opening alongside CSKโs newest recruit, Sanju Samson, who was traded in for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. In that case, Ayush Mhatre could be slotted in at number three, while Urvil Patel can also be an interesting option.
Earlier, former CSK cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin expressed a clear preference for Gaikwad and Samson at the top of the order. He highlighted that both cricketers can play an aggressive brand of cricket at the top and the duo can set the tone for the middle order batters.
โThere is pedigree with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson. Pedigree means you making quality runs and sustaining that for a period of time. We must not forget that. For me, I would love to see both of them go hammer and tongs at the opening slot. Both of them have different strengths. One is a caresser of the ball, while the other guy hits it hard so both of those qualities are there. So I will look at it in that fashion that I have two good openers,โ said Ashwin on his Youtube Channel.
How can CSKโs middle order shape up?
Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube are expected to bat at numbers four and five, respectively. They will have the tough job of finishing games, as CSK have an inexperienced lower middle order. However, thereโs MS Dhoni available. If the keeper-batter bats at number six, it could be a blessing for the franchise, as the veteran is the master of finishing games. In the past few years, he has played limited balls in the tournament, but has managed to capitalise on those.
He needs to once again back himself to help CSK progress to the playoffs. In case he bats at six, Prashant Veer could be slotted at number seven. Or else, Matt Short could be fit somewhere in the middle, who can be a dependable option.ย
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