CSK confirm Ruturaj Gaikwad as skipper for IPL 2026
Gaikwad was bought by five-time champions Super Kings at the IPL 2019 player auction for Rs 20 lakhs.
New Delhi: Chennai Super Kings, on Saturday, confirmed that Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the side in the Indian Premier League 2026 season. The confirmation, on social media handle X, came on the sidelines of the IPL 2026 retentions list that was announced by all the ten franchises ahead of the 2026 mini-auction.
The batter was named as the captain of the Super Kings during the 2024 season but handed over the reins to legendary MS Dhoni midway in the next 2025 season as he was ruled out due to an injury. This statement from the franchise comes amid rumours of appointment of Sanju Samson as the new skipper for the Super Kings.
It was earlier reported but it got confirmed in November 15 that CSK decided to trade Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran for Rajasthan Royals star player Samson. While the same was being reported by multiple publications over the last few days, the Super Kings finally cleared the air announcing Gaikwad as the skipper for the upcoming edition of the cash-rich tournament.
Gaikwad bought by CSK in 2019
Gaikwad was bought by five-time champions Super Kings at the IPL 2019 player auction for Rs 20 lakhs. Ahead of the 2022 season, CSK retained him for Rs 6 crores. In 71 games for CSK, he has smashed 2502 runs at an impressive strike rate of over 137 including two centuries and 20 half-centuries. Gaikwad got his first IPL hundred in 2021, the same season when the champion side won the title.
Meanwhile, the Super Kings skipper was last seen in action during the unofficial one-day between India-A and South Africa-A where he ended up scoring a match-winning knock of 117 off 129 balls. On Saturday, a scores of Indian and overseas players were released by all the franchises with an aim to overhaul their squads at the mini-auction which will take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.