IPL 2026 has been forgettable for Ruturaj Gaikwad, both as a captain and as a batter. On Monday, May 19, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lost to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium by five wickets. This win all but ends CSK’s hopes of reaching the playoffs. They will have to win their last league game against an in-form Gujarat Titans on Thursday and hope other results go in their favour.
On Monday, Ruturaj won the toss and opted to bat first, citing that the wicket was dry. While his assessment was correct, the pitch wasn’t anywhere near unplayable. The right-handed batter, however, struggled massively, scoring 15 runs off 21 balls before his dismissal. Chennai were eventually restricted to 180/7, with Pat Cummins bagging a three-for. In reply, the visitors romped home with an over to spare on the back of Ishan Kishan’s solid half-century and a blistering knock from Heinrich Klaasen.
Talking about Ruturaj’s tough campaign with the bat, the 29-year-old only scored 321 runs in 13 innings at an average of 29.18 and a strike rate of 120.68. He notched up only two half-centuries during the season.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan opined that the Men in Yellow management should hand leadership duties to Sanju Samson after this season ends. The cricketer-turned-expert believes that this move could help Ruturaj excel as a pure batter.
“I see Samson captaining next year. That might help Ruturaj’s batting as well. It might be better for him just getting into the ranks as a batter again. Sanju is world-class and very clever as a captain as well. So I think they would be better suited to have Sanju Samson as captain,” Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
They’ve not been lucky with the injuries: Vaughan on CSK’s campaign
CSK have been hit by several injuries during the course of the season. Vaughan acknowledged this fact and said that Samson will have a better campaign in his second season at CSK next year.
“They’ve been better than last year. Overton’s injury has been costly. They’ve not been lucky with the injuries. It was Sanju’s first year here, so he’ll be better next year,” said Vaughan (via the aforementioned source).
When MSD went on lap of honour, he didn’t look happy: Ashwin
Vaughan also wondered whether MS Dhoni, who has been on the bench this season due to fitness concerns, will come back to play next year.
“It also remains to be seen if Dhoni is around next year and what effect he has on the group. But I am sure even if he’s not playing, he’ll be around next year. Yet, they are two or three players away from competing at the highest level, but they are not far off,” added Vaughan.
