Former England captain Michael Vaughan and ex-New Zealand pacer Simon Doull have raised questions over the dynamics inside Chennai Super Kings, suggesting that skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad could feel “threatened” by the presence of Sanju Samson. Speaking on a Cricbuzz show, the duo discussed Samson’s role before turning their attention to Gaikwad’s position as captain. “What about the captain, Gaikwad? Do you think he feels threatened [by Samson]?” Vaughan asked. “Absolutely,” Doull replied. Vaughan elaborated on the situation, pointing out the layered dynamics within the side. “[One of the league’s] youngest captains Gaikwad, he’s done it a bit now and you kind of go, ‘Go on, we’re gonna back you, you’re the captain. But by the way, we’re signing Sanju, who’s a very good captain and he’s a keeper. And guess what? We’ve had a keeper who was a captain for a long period of time and did very well, and we’re gonna try and replace him. But you carry on captaining and hope it doesn’t affect you.’” Samson, who was the longest-serving and among the most successful captains at Rajasthan Royals, had led the side to the IPL 2022 final, strengthening his credentials as a leader. However, his start with CSK in IPL 2026 has been underwhelming, with back-to-back single-digit scores. Doull acknowledged the pressure surrounding the wicketkeeper-batter, especially after a high-profile move. “Tough challenge for him, and it’s one of those situations you find yourself in when you’re not desperate, but when you want to play for a certain side and you want to put on a show,” Doull said. “I mean, he is a South boy, isn’t he? He is a Kerala boy. He wants to put on a show. I think he feels like he’s more at home. In the South, the trade happened; it was a big trade as we’ve talked about, you’ve lost 2 high quality players for one player. So the pressure’s quite enormous, the pressure of maybe what they see him as in the future as well. But he just got to think back to a few weeks ago, doesn’t he? And how was he playing in the last 3 games [in the T20 World Cup].” The comments came after Chennai Super Kings slumped to their second successive defeat, going down to Punjab Kings despite posting a competitive 209 for five. Punjab’s chase was anchored by skipper Shreyas Iyer, who struck a fluent 50 off 29 balls and stitched a crucial 59-run stand with Nehal Wadhera. Contributions from Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and Cooper Connolly ensured the visitors chased down the target with five wickets in hand. Earlier, youngster Ayush Mhatre impressed with a 43-ball 73, while Gaikwad chipped in with 28 as CSK built a strong platform. But Samson’s early dismissal and a middle-overs slowdown hurt the hosts, who managed 64 runs in the final five overs through late hits from Sarfaraz Khan and Shivam Dube. In the end, despite posting a formidable total, CSK were outplayed by a composed Punjab unit, leaving questions not just about their bowling but also about the evolving leadership equation within the side.
