The upcoming edition of the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-here-are-all-mumbai-indians-matches-announced-in-the-first-phase-schedule-of-the-marquee-event-23620388" rel="nofollow">Indian Premier League</a> (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only the first 20 matches has been announced due to the state elections.
Ahead of the league, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is all set to lock horns with Rajasthan Royals (RR) on March 30th at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati.
Ahead of the match, former Team India cricketer Irfan Pathan feels that <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/t20-world-cup-2026-sanju-samson-shines-for-team-india-in-global-showpiece-23619875" rel="nofollow">Sanju Samson</a>, who has been traded to CSK from RR, will have an important role to play. He said that the Kings will also seek the inside information from the Kerala-born cricketer.
"Samson's presence will make a lot of difference for CSK because no one knows the 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," he said.
The former cricketer then said that Sanju will be a huge advantage for Chennai, considering the form and experience he has of playing in Guwahati. He expressed excitement to see how CSK's young players perform.
"All the youngsters in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-rajasthan-royals-appoint-riyan-parag-as-new-captain-following-sanju-samson-trade-23616495" rel="nofollow">Rajasthan Royals</a> 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," said Pathan.
<h2>Chennai Super Kings' Fixtures</h2>
March 30 (Mon) Rajasthan Royals vs CSK, ACA Stadium, Guwahati, 7:30 pm
April 03 (Fri) CSK vs Punjab Kings, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, 7:30 pm
April 05 (Sun) RCB vs CSK, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru 7:30 pm
April 11 (Sat) CSK vs Delhi Capitals, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai 7:30 pm
<h2>Chennai Super Kings' squad for IPL 2026</h2>
Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Matthew William Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hpsein, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar.
(With ANI Inputs)

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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is all set to lock horns with Rajasthan Royals (RR) on March 30th at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati

Irfan explains how Samson's presence for CSK against RR will be advantage

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