Chennai Super Kings on Saturday confirmed that Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the team in the Indian Premier League 2026 season. The announcement ended all speculation around the captaincy ahead of the new campaign. The recent trade that brought Sanju Samson to CSK in place of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran had added to the debate. Many felt the franchise might hand the leadership to Samson, who led Rajasthan Royals for several seasons.
Gaikwad was first given the captaincy in the 2024 season but handed the role back to M. S. Dhoni midway through the 2025 season after suffering an injury that ruled him out. His return raised questions over whether CSK would stick with him or look at other options. However, soon after the retention deadline closed on Saturday, CSK confirmed that Gaikwad would take charge again.
Gaikwad was last seen in the unofficial one-day match between India A and South Africa A. He scored a match-winning 117 off 129 balls in that outing, signalling a strong comeback after injury.
Retained players
Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain)
Ayush Mhatre
Dewald Brevis
M. S. Dhoni
Urvil Patel
Shivam Dube
Jamie Overton
Ramakrishna Ghosh
Noor Ahmad
Khaleel Ahmed
Anshul Kamboj
Gurjanpreet Singh
Nathan Ellis
Shreyas Gopal
Mukesh Choudhary
Released players
Rahul Tripathi
Vansh Bedi
C Andre Siddarth
Rachin Ravindra
Deepak Hooda
Vijay Shankar
Shaik Rasheed
Kamlesh Nagarkoti
Matheesha Pathirana
R Ashwin
Trades
Sanju Samson traded in from Rajasthan Royals
Ravindra Jadeja traded to Rajasthan Royals
Sam Curran traded to Rajasthan Royals
