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Sanjay Manjrekar Urges Major Shake-Up at Chennai Super Kings After Poor IPL 2026

Manjrekar's public call raises pressure on long-serving coach Stephen Fleming and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad by proposing Sanju Samson as a replacement.

Overview

  • Sanjay Manjrekar told Sportstar on Tuesday that CSK must "change things around" after the team finished eighth in the IPL 2026 season.
  • Manjrekar explicitly questioned how much Stephen Fleming is contributing as head coach and said it is time to "shake up a few things."
  • He recommended handing leadership to Sanju Samson and allowing Ruturaj Gaikwad to focus solely on batting after Gaikwad scored 337 runs in 14 innings this season.
  • CSK missed the playoffs for a third straight year, winning 6 of 14 matches in 2026, and the comments reflect growing media pressure rather than any reported action by the franchise.
  • Fleming's long record of five IPL titles with CSK raises the stakes of these calls and could prompt a wider review of coaching roles and MS Dhoni's non-playing influence inside the team.