Former Australian captain and 2021 World Cup winner, Aaron Finch, lavished massive praise on Sanju Samson for how he has dealt with pressure for his new franchise, CSK. He has been impressed with how he has settled and adjusted to the new team. For the record, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) traded Sanju Samson in at the cost of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. The wicket-keeper batter started IPL 2026Â with three single-digit scores, all of which were part of losses for his new franchise, CSK.
Sanju Samson has since turned things around so much that he has three fifty-plus scores in seven innings, including a match-winning 87 not out off 55 balls against Delhi Capitals (DC) on a tricky pitch on Tuesday night.
Aaron Finch lavishes massive praise on Sanju Samson
Speaking on ESPN Cricinfo’s Time Out Show, Aaron Finch said, “He missed out the first couple of games, didn’t he? All of a sudden, there was a massive panic about what CSK had done. They’ve got Sanju Samson, and he’s not performing. Two games in T20 are nothing. To go right through a season ultra-consistent is so difficult. You probably can’t underestimate the pressure on somebody going into a team like CSK. Being a huge marquee signing, particularly when you have traded someone like Jadeja out of the side as well.”Â
Aaron Finch further added, “Although he had a dream run at the end of the T20 World Cup and then he’s come in at CSK and missed out a couple of times, there will still be some pride and pressure and almost some feeling that you can tend to overplay it slightly in your own head that you want to get to a new franchise and really lay down a marker and say ‘I’m here’. “
He further concluded, “This is what you’re traded for and the superstar that you’ve been crying out for. So, the fact that he’s batting on a different level is great to see.”Â
After winning the Player of the Tournament award at the T20 World Cup, which India defended successfully at home, Samson has been at the forefront of CSK’s success with the bat this IPL. He currently has 402 runs in 10 innings at an average of 57.42 and a strike rate of 167.50.
Deep Dasgupta lauds the newer version of Sanju Samson
For his previous franchise, the Rajasthan Royals (RR), Sanju Samson usually started well with the bat, but couldn’t maintain his consistency through the season. Former India wicket-keeper batter and now expert Deep Dasgupta was impressed with the newer version of Samson.
Speaking in the same conversation, Deep Dasgupta said, “This is the version of Sanju Samson we’ve been wanting to see for quite a few years now. So, every season you see a couple of those innings and go ‘wow, what a player!’ but then it would only end up being those couple of innings. But now, starting from the World Cup, he’s been so consistent, and in this season, well, this is the only fifty he’s got. Every time he goes past fifty, he gets a hundred, and he stays not out. Again, he does not stay out on 87, brilliant innings. It just seemed like he was playing on a different surface.”Â
After the win against DC, CSK stayed in 6th place on the points table but were only two points behind the four teams ranked from 2nd to 5th in the points table. Sanju Samson will be hoping he carries on this good form, and so will all Chennai fans, as Super Kings now have 4 games left and must win 3 of them to qualify for the Playoffs. Their next game is against LSG on Sunday afternoon in Chennai.
Let’s see if CSK can sustain the winning momentum that they have now.
Also Read:Â DC vs CSK: Axar Patel Makes Massive Blunder In Post-Match Interview