New Delhi, March 13 – Former Indian spinner Piyush Chawla believes that the home ground of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), MA Chidambaram Stadium, will be ideal for Sanju Samson's batting style, who is making his debut season with the five-time champions.
Samson is entering the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 after impressive performances in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup, where he scored consecutive half-centuries in the Super8s match against the West Indies, the semi-final against England, and the final against New Zealand. According to Chawla, Samson's good form before the IPL 2026 is a boon for CSK.
"Sanju Samson is a match-winner in himself. He proved his critics wrong with three impactful knocks against West Indies, England, and New Zealand in the T20 World Cup. CSK will be very happy with his form because Samson is in peak form just before the start of the IPL. That is great news for their fans. The way the pitch plays in Chennai will definitely suit his game," Chawla said on JioHotstar.
Samson has been traded from the Rajasthan Royals to CSK in place of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran before the IPL 2026 auction. Samson has played 177 IPL matches and scored 4707 runs at an average of 30.95.
Chawla added that Samson's aggressive batting style will help CSK solve their problem of slow starts. According to the 37-year-old, Samson will open with India's U19 captain, Ayush Mhatre, who impressed with his skills last season.
"Opening the innings, his aggressive style will greatly benefit CSK. Last season, they struggled to get quick starts. Only after Ayush Mhatre arrived did CSK start scoring runs in the powerplay. Now, with Samson in, their opening problems will finally be solved. They need that experienced opener alongside Ayush Mhatre. Samson's trade move to CSK is going to be a blockbuster one," he said.