Sanju Samson has expressed his delight about becoming a member of Chennai Tremendous Kings (CSK) and getting the chance to play alongside MS Dhoni in IPL 2026. The wicketkeeper-batter has been traded from Rajasthan Royals to the five-time IPL champions for Rs 18 Crore.Samson opened up about his long-standing admiration for MS Dhoni and reminisced about their first encounter. He mentioned the challenges of interacting with Dhoni because of the fixed presence of followers across the cricket legend.“There’s one individual there, everybody is aware of him. The individual known as MS Dhoni. I first met him once I was 19 and acquired chosen within the Indian group for the primary time. I went for a UK tour Mahi Bhai was the captain,” Samson stated on CSK’s YouTube channel. “I noticed him for the primary time and interacted with him for 10-20 days. After that, I used to see him in the course of the IPL. There’ll at all times be a crowd in entrance of him. 5 individuals right here, 10 individuals there. I used to suppose, ‘OK, I am unable to meet him right here, I must meet him individually.'” Samson shared his pleasure about lastly getting the prospect to be in the identical dressing room as Dhoni, expressing gratitude for this chance.“I had such a want. Future has acquired me to return and play with him in a single dressing room. That couple of months. I am very excited to fulfill and work together with him. Sit have breakfast with him, follow with him, play with him. Wow! Simply excited about it makes me very completely happy,” he added. Upon sporting the CSK jersey for the primary time, Samson talked about feeling like a champion. His addition to the group is taken into account a major a part of CSK’s future technique as they put together for the eventual transition past MS Dhoni’s period.Samson brings substantial expertise to CSK with 177 IPL matches beneath his belt. His spectacular statistics embody 4,704 runs, three centuries, and 26 fifties. He additionally carries management expertise from his tenure as Rajasthan Royals captain.The commerce deal that introduced Samson to CSK concerned two skilled all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran, transferring to Rajasthan Royals. In accordance with the IPL’s media advisory, Jadeja’s payment was adjusted from Rs 18 crore to Rs 14 crore as a part of the settlement.Samson will proceed along with his current league payment of Rs 18 crore at CSK, whereas Curran maintains his earlier worth of Rs 2.4 crore at Rajasthan Royals.