Sanju Samson will make BIG difference in CSK’s opener vs Rajasthan Royals due to…

Chennai Super Kings will open their campaign in the IPL 2026 season against Rajasthan Royals at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on March 30.

IPL 2026: Five-time Indian Premier League champions Chennai Super Kings will begin their campaign in the IPL 2026 with a clash against Rajasthan Royals led by Riyan Parag at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on March 30. It will be a repeat of the inaugural IPL final in 2008 which Rajasthan Royals had won under the captaincy of late Shane Warne.

For CSK, it will be a fresh start after finishing in last place in IPL 2025 season. But they will be boosted by the addition of T20 World Cup 2026’s ‘Player of the Tournament’ Sanju Samson in their ranks. Samson became the biggest-ever trade in IPL history after joining CSK from the RR for Rs 18 crore ahead of the IPL 2026 season.

While Samson is moving from RR to CSK, the Royals will have a couple of Chennai players joining them – Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran for IPL 2026. Former India and CSK all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels Samson’s addition to CSK will give them a big edge in IPL 2026 opener vs RR.

“Sanju Samson’s presence will make a lot of difference for CSK because no one knows Rajasthan Royals better than him. From that perspective, you will get inside information from Sanju about how that team plays, how they approach the Powerplay, the middle overs, their mindset and even their bowling as well,” Irfan Pathan said while speaking on JioStar’s ‘TATA IPL: Schedule Announcement’ on Wednesday.

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“All the youngsters in Rajasthan Royals have played with and under Sanju, so he will be a huge advantage for CSK, not just in terms of the form he will carry from the T20 World Cup, but the experience of playing in Guwahati will also come in handy for him in the first game. I am very excited to see how CSK are going to fare this season because they have brought in some very exciting young players,” Pathan added.

Ayush Rutu
Kartik Sarfu
One for class.
One for smash.#WhistlePodu #Yellove pic.twitter.com/bCYQ6OmrjH
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 12, 2026

‘Defending champions RCB need to assess conditions quickly’

IPL 2025 winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru are scheduled to take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opening game of the IPL 2026 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28. But the game is scheduled to take place there only after clearance is received from Karnataka government on March 13.

“It’s almost a bit of an unknown for RCB because it is a stadium where they don’t have the best record. Their away record last year was one of those anomalies in the IPL winners’ list itself, where your home record wasn’t as good as the away one. They need to get in sync very quickly. The bigger picture for RCB is that they need to understand and assess the conditions a lot quicker than the other sides because there has been no cricket played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for the last 8-9 months,” former India batter Abhinav Mukund told JioHotstar.

“Their biggest problem was the lack of home advantage last year. And they are playing some high-flying teams, Sunrisers Hyderabad and the revamped Chennai Super Kings at home. So, it’s going to be a trial by fire for the defending champions. I am sure they have already started preparing for it,” Mukund added.

The BCCI have only announced the schedule for the first 20 matches in the first phase on Wednesday. They will announce schedule for remaining matches after dates for Assembly Elections are announced by the Indian government. Pathan feels Mumbai Indians vs RCB is the biggest game in the first 20 matches.

“It is going to be a houseful, and you want to see these superstars. The quality of cricket that you are going to get in this match, in terms of bowling, batting and six-hitting ability, you won’t get to see a bigger match than this. And it is understandable too. Rohit Sharma, the way his form has been for the last two years, has been magnificent,” Pathan said.

“But Virat Kohli, I will be really looking forward to the style and the approach he bats with. He will also be very refreshed. Rajat Patidar’s form has been a bit lean in domestic cricket, but he will now return as an IPL-winning Captain. Jitesh Sharma was left out of the Indian team, but before that, he played some good knocks as well. And then, Bhuvneshwar Kumar in bowling. So, in terms of quality cricket and the atmosphere at the Wankhede Stadium, I think this is the biggest game of the schedule as of now,” he added.

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The Times Of Bengal