IPL 2026: ‘Sanju Samson should be captain’- Ex-India cricketer wants CSK to sack Ruturaj Gaikwad

Manoj Tiwary has questioned whether Ruturaj Gaikwad should continue as captain of Chennai Super Kings, suggesting the franchise may need a leadership rethink after another disappointing IPL season. Speaking on Cricbuzz following CSK’s five-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad at Chepauk, Tiwary pointed towards Gaikwad’s lack of fluency with the bat and said the pressure of succeeding MS Dhoni may have affected both his batting and captaincy. Gaikwad endured another difficult outing on Monday night, crawling to 15 off 21 balls on a surface where timing was not easy but scoring opportunities were still available.

During the powerplay, the CSK skipper managed just nine runs from 11 deliveries and became only the second batter this season to go through the first six overs without hitting a boundary. His innings once again intensified criticism around Chennai’s cautious approach at the top of the order, especially in a tournament where aggressive starts have become essential. Tiwary acknowledged that replacing Dhoni as captain was always going to be one of the toughest jobs in the IPL, but insisted Gaikwad should stop trying to live up to comparisons and instead focus on building his own identity.

“You said Ruturaj needs to fill his (Dhoni's) shoes. I feel there isn't any shoe of that size yet. He should focus on building his own legacy, and for that, he has to do extensive research on his past matches and identify where he needs to improve, and only after that can he prepare to be a captain next season.

A captain can only be positive when he himself is scoring runs. But he isn't scoring runs. He is lacking that fluency,” Tiwary said.