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    “Sanju and Mhatre open for me” – Former India batter picks CSK’s top order for IPL 2026 

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    Runfyers
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    Former India opener Abhinav Mukund has backed Sanju Samson and Ayush Mhatre as CSK’s openers for IPL 2026. Mukund reckons that the Chennai franchise have struggled in the powerplay over the last couple of seasons and hence must back the aggressive duo of Samson and Mhatre for the upcoming season, with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad batting at No. 3.

    CSK had a horrible IPL 2025 season, finishing in last position. They won only four of their 14 matches. Before that, they failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2024 as well. The Chennai franchise heavily invested in youth at the IPL 2026 auction, purchasing the uncapped India duo of Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma for ₹14.20 crore each.

    During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Mukund opined that CSK have been poor in the opening department over the last couple of seasons. Picking his top three for the franchise for IPL 2026, he commented:

    “This is Ruturaj Gaikwad’s team. He wants these sort [aggressive] of players. Last couple of seasons, they’ve had the worst opening partnerships, worst powerplay scores. They were behind the eight ball in terms of how they started. I think the games changed to a powerplay game, where 60 is a bare minimum.”

    “I think they’ve gone there and biggest thing to address is the opening pair and they’ve got Sanju before the auction. So, Sanju and Mhatre open for me. I still think Mhatre will be as explosive as ever. He opened for Mumbai. He struggled a little bit on the South African pitches. But, if you’ve got Mhatre in the side and Rutu wants to bat three, unfortunately, Urvil Patel misses out,” Mukund added.

    Samson was traded to CSK from Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of IPL 2026 in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. The keeper-batter had a terrific T20 World Cup 2026 and was named Player of the Tournament.

    “I think it was an excellent trade” – Faf du Plessis on CSK’s Sanju Samson move

    Former South African captain Faf du Plessis described CSK’s decision to acquire Samson’s services via a trade deal as an excellent move. Du Plessis pointed out that opening pairs have been a huge part of CSK’s success story and added that Samson’s entry should strengthen their top order. He commented:

    “I think it was an excellent trade. At the time, people were questioning it. Obviously, Jaddu being a stalwart of CSK, one of the icons… But, what Sanju brings for that team is a specialist batter that brings you a lot of runs. If you look throughout CSK’s history, opening partnerships have been a big part of their story.”

    CSK will begin their IPL 2026 campaign with a match against Samson’s former franchise RR at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on March 30.