Mohammed Kaif feels that MS Dhoni will be ready to sacrifice Ravindra Jadeja to get Sanju Samson from RR for CSK’s good ahead of the IPL 2026 season. The biggest trade rumour ahead of the IPL 2026 retentions is CSK getting Samson in by swapping Jadeja and Sam Curran to RR.
CSK are preparing for life after Dhoni and Samson seems to be the ideal candidate to replace the former India captain at the Chennai-based franchise at the moment. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif said that Dhoni’s goal is to make CSK champions again and he will be ready to let Jadeja go, despite the all-rounder being key to Chennai’s success over the past few years.
“For Dhoni, making the team win is the biggest goal. If he is coming to play again, he will be thinking CSK finished 10th in the standings last year. He is a man of pride; hence, his biggest goal will be to make the team win another trophy. A team cannot win the trophy based on one player,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
“If Jadeja has to be sacrificed for the team’s good, Dhoni will do it. People say how Dhoni operates based on friendships and does it, giving them a couple of extra chances. But it doesn’t mean his focus goes away from winning. The goal is to make CSK a champion. That’s why he will let go of Jadeja if it has to be done. If Dhoni feels he can get a better option for the team, he will take the decision,” remarked Kaif.
SAMSON MIGHT HAVE SPOKEN TO DHONI
Kaif also believes that Samson would have had a phone call with Dhoni as the legendary wicketkeeper runs CSK. The former cricketer also feels Samson can also be the future captain of the franchise.
“If Samson is likely to join CSK, there would be a lot of calls. Sanju must have called on the phone. Behind the scenes, there are a lot of phone calls. Sanju might have spoken to CSK, maybe Dhoni, ‘Bhai kya lagta hai.’ See, Dhoni runs the team, and if CSK wants Sanju this time, then he is also the future captain. It also means that this is Dhoni’s last year. Why would they want Sanju? Jadeja has been playing for them for a long time (since 2012).”
“The style of batting Sanju Samson has, he is more likely to succeed with the bat in Chennai than Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul. He might come at No. 3 or 4, and he can hit sixes in the middle overs,” he added.
Jadeja has won three IPL titles with CSK and scored the winning runs when they won the 2023 final in Ahmedabad against GT.
