"I met him when I was 19" - Sanju Samson opens up on his friends in CSK ahead of IPL 2026

Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) newest recruit Sanju Samson opened up on his excitement of playing alongside MS Dhoni in IPL 2026. Samson also recalled meeting the legendary cricketer for the first time when he was 19.

In one of the most high-profile trades in IPL history, the Rajasthan Royals traded Samson to the Super Kings for Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja. This will be the third IPL franchise of Samson's career.

In his first interaction since being roped in by CSK, Samson remembered the time he was selected for a tour to the UK aged 19, and his interactions with Dhoni. He said in the video shared by CSK:

"I have a lot of friends there. But there is a person there. Everyone knows him. There is a person called MS Dhoni. I met him when I was 19. When I was 19, I got selected in the Indian team for the very first time. I went for a UK tour. Mahi bhai was the captain. I saw Mahi bhai there for the first time. I interacted with him for 10-20 days. After that, I used to see him during IPL. There will always be a crowd in front of him. Five people here, 10 people there. Ok, I cannot meet here. I will have to meet him separately. I had such a desire. "Destiny has got to me and play with him in one dressing room. That couple of months. I’m very, very excited. Definitely, very genuinely excited to meet him and interact with him. Sit, have breakfast with him, practice with him, play matches with him, WOW! Just thinking about it makes me very happy. After that, I have a lot of friends."

Dhoni is the custodian of several records in IPL, including most matches played and most games as captain. The 43-year-old is also the joint successful skipper in IPL history, along with Rohit Sharma, winning five titles with the Super Kings. Rohit, meanwhile, captained the Mumbai Indians to five title wins.

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"I think I have not heard anything bad yet about CSK" - Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson made his IPL debut in 2013. (Credits: Getty)

When asked what he heard about CSK's dressing room as an outsider, Samson said he only knew that it was one of the best. The star cricketer is keen to experience it first-hand. He added:

"I have heard lots and lots of things, being a part of IPL from last 10 to 14 years, I think you have a lot of friends in other franchises. You are a part of the Indian dressing room. I’m not saying it because I have actually come to the CSK franchise. One thing I have heard from each and every Indian, domestic and international player is CSK is one of the finest dressing rooms. I have heard lots and lots of great things. I think I have not heard anything bad yet about CSK, I have hard lots and lots of great things. But I’m looking forward to experiencing it. Listening to stories definitely excite me as a person and cricketer. But I’m looking forward to experiencing it first-hand."

Samson added that he would speak Tamil more often, now that he has become a part of the Super Kings. He concluded:

"I’m very happy as I said. When I was young, I used to go to Chennai to play cricket. I have a lot of friends there. Malayalam and Tamil are very close actually. So, we watch a lot of Tamil movies in my house. I like speaking in Tamil and have a lot of Tamil friends. CSK is the closest place for people in Kerala. In Kerala, you can see a lot of yellow jerseys. So, there are a lot of connections like that. I don’t speak Tamil very often. But whenever I meet a person or a friend, Tamil comes automatically. I think from this moment on, I will be speaking in Tamil more often. "Everyone is very excited in hometown in Kerala, in my home, family everywhere. Everyone is like ‘Chetta, super decision, super, super, super’. Everyone is very excited. Everyone is sending me messages like, ‘Ok, I have also become a Chennai Super Kings fan now’. From now, I’m also wearing Chennai for you. So, that’s all a great thing to feel and a great thing to experience. I am very happy. Let’s see how it goes."

CSK will hope that Samson's inclusion will help them in IPL 2026 after finishing at the bottom of the table in the 2025 edition. Ruturaj Gaikwad will continue to captain the franchise.

Edited by Sankalp Srivastava