IPL 2026: Why did Sanju Samson fail to perform for CSK in first 3 matches?

Sanju Samson is the opener for CSK in IPL 2026.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made headlines when they inducted Sanju Samson into their squad ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. They executed one of the biggest trade deals in IPL history, exchanging Samson with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran with Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Since MS Dhoni is in the final stages of his IPL career, CSK roped in Samson as his successor in future. Moreover, Samson also has been handed the role of an opener along with Ruturaj Gaikwad in IPL 2026.

Samson showcased a brilliant form for India in T20 World Cup 2026 last month, finishing as the leading run-scorer for the team. Therefore, fans expected him to come up with a spectacular show in IPL 2026.

However, Samson has flopped with the bat in the first three games, getting out for single digits. The right-handed batsman registered scores of 6, 7, and 9 in his first three outings for CSK in IPL 2026.

Why is Sanju Samson struggling to perform in IPL 2026?

With Samson failing in first three games, many have been wondering about what has led to his failures, and in this piece, we take a look at reasons behind that.

To begin with, a few things have added a lot of pressure on Samson. He was picked for a huge price of INR 18 crore by CSK, and his transfer became the talk of the town. Moreover, due to his recent success and huge IPL experience, CSK fans had a lot of expectations from him.

These factors must have contributed to his failures in the first three games. In the past, there have been many instances when players bagged expensive contracts in IPL but failed to perform due to pressure.

Chennai could not make it to the playoffs in the last two seasons and were also the worst performers last season. They are aiming for a big comeback in IPL 2026, but things are not going in their favour as CSK have lost three games and Sanju’s failures have added salt on his wounds.

Something similar happened with Samson earlier this year for India. In the T20I series against New Zealand in January, he was given the opening slot with Abhishek Sharma.

However, he struggled to perform in the entire series, failing to score even one half-century in five games. Later, he also lost his opening slot to Ishan Kishan due to his poor show.

It should be noted that Samson struggled to perform before T20 World Cup 2026 but later came up with match-winning knocks towards the end of the tournament. Therefore, he can make a comeback in the upcoming games despite his poor start in IPL 2026.

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