Chennai Super Kings head into IPL 2026 with arguably the best batting lineup in the entire competition – a stark change from 2025, where their batting was historically poor and their big weakness in a season they finished bottom of the pile.
Thanks to replacement players, savvy trades, and a willingness to go after youth in the auction, it’s an interesting, Indian-centric batting unit – but one which will need to settle on a balance quickly. The big question is what the composition of the top three will look like: while captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ayush Mhatre, and fresh acquisition Sanju Samson will play those roles, in exactly what combination is the question.
At the Captains’ Meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday evening, Gaikwad seemed to lay out CSK’s cards on the table. He was asked exactly this question, about which duo would be opening come CSK’s opening match vs Rajasthan Royals – and surprisingly, provided a straight answer.
“Rutu and Sanju,” said the CSK captain directly, giving himself and the Indian national team opener the nod ahead of the youth of U-19 captain Ayush Mhatre.
Mhatre opened the batting throughout the vast majority of the IPL 2025 season, in which he was joined by Urvil Patel due to Gaikwad’s absence through injury. Gaikwad has gradually shown his quality and skill batting lower down the order for Maharashtra and even for India, across various formats.
Mhatre, meanwhile, had come through as an opener for Mumbai and India in age group cricket. However, in the recent U-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe, Mhatre demoted himself to number three, due to a streak of bad form at the top of the order, coming in after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Aaron George.
What could CSK’s batting look like?
Samson also has significant experience in batting at number three: for several years in Rajasthan Royals, he would play behind Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, as that successful RR team got the best out of all batters despite some shuffling. However, as evidenced in the T20 World Cup where he earned player of the tournament honours, batting right at the very top must be the direction CSK go with for the Kerala batter.
Following this sensational top three, it only gets better for CSK: their number four and five slots can be rotated between Shivam Dube, who adds a left-handed element, and Dewald Brevis, with the South African batter showing potential to be something special in the T20 game.
The lower order unit will contain a mix of big-money buys Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer, whose youth will be tempered by the excellence and late hitting of the great MS Dhoni. Whatever the combination, plenty to be excited about for the Chepauk faithful.
