Sanju Samson plays for CSK in IPL 2026. Credits - AP
India's 2026 T20 World Cup hero, Sanju Samson, has been having a middling season in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). Just like Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Samson has been a real disappointment for the fans.
Sanju Samson CSK performance has not been that notable in the IPL 2026, but the 31-year-old has been nominated as one of the three entrants in the ICC Men's Player of the Month for March.
He was the Player of the Series in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, where he played three back-to-back match-winning knocks as India defended their crown.
Moreover, India's Jasprit Bumrah and the South African wicketkeeper-batter Connor Esterhuizen was among the nominees for the Player of the Month award for the month of March.
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Meanwhile, Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Beth Mooney (Australia) and Ayabonga Khaka (South Africa) have been named as nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for March.
Sanju Samson’s heroics in T20 World Cup
Sanju Samson didn’t start in the eleven for India in the initial matches, but played one league game against Namibia in Abhishek Sharma’s absence. He was included for good from the Super 8 fixture against Zimbabwe after India lost to South Africa.
The keeper-batter first played a sublime cameo of 24, before slamming 97* against West Indies, 89 (in the semifinal) and 89 (in the final). For his terrific run in the business end, Samson was adjudged the Player of the Series.
Meanwhile, in the same T20 World Cup campaign, Jasprit Bumrah ended with the most wickets in the tournament. He bagged the Player of the Match award in the final for his 4 for 15 against New Zealand.
On the other hand, Proteas wicketkeeper, who scored 200 runs in five T20I matches against the Blackcaps down under, is the third nominee in the prestigious ICC award for March.
Woeful Sanju Samson for CSK
Chennai Super Kings traded Sanju Samson from the Rajasthan Royals as the new torchbearer with MS Dhoni in the twilight of his IPL career. However, Chetta, as they call him, hasn’t fared well for the five-time champions.
So far in three outings, he has scored just 22 runs, with none of them double-digit scores. The right-handed batter has struggled against pace in the IPL 2026, but a batter of his calibre is a knock away from getting back to his groove.
Meanwhile, for Chennai, both openers- Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad- have been disenchanting in MS Dhoni’s absence, who might return in the next game against Delhi Capitals, alongside Dewald Brevis.
Having said that, CSK’s real problem has been their bowling. Apart from Anshul Kamboj, all of their bowlers have been struggling for wickets.
Sanju Samson’s IPL numbers
Playing in 180 matches in the IPL, Sanju Samson has been one of the most consistent batters to have ever played in the IPL. He is 14th on the list for most runs in the IPL, after debuting in 2013. Since then, he has played for three different teams - Rajasthan, Delhi and CSK.
Overall, Samson has smacked 4726 runs at an average of 30.49 with a strike rate of 138.91. He has hit 26 half-centuries and three hundreds in the T20 league.
Although his best came in the T20 World Cup as an opener and he’s batting at that position, Samson has enjoyed the most as a number three batter in the IPL. In 94 innings while batting at 3, he has hit 3096 runs at 38.22 & 143.33, with all his tons coming there.
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