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Sanju Samson reached one of cricket's most prestigious T20 batting milestones on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, becoming the 10th player in IPL history to score 5000 runs in the tournament.
He achieved the landmark with a four off Kagiso Rabada in the second over of CSK's innings against Gujarat Titans, and in doing so he became the fastest Indian batter to reach this milestone, getting there in just 3,555 balls, behind only AB de Villiers and David Warner in the all-time list. That means he surpassed both Suresh Raina, who needed 3,620 balls, and MS Dhoni, who took 3,691 balls, two legends of the franchise he now represents.
The milestone moment for Sanju Samson and what it means
Sanju Samson's journey to 5000 IPL runs has been one of the most fascinating careers this tournament has produced.
He made his IPL debut in 2013 and across 185 matches for three franchises, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils and now Chennai Super Kings, he has accumulated 5,008 runs at an average of approximately 31 with a strike rate above 140, including five centuries and 31 fifties.
Over 4,000 of those runs came in Rajasthan Royals colours, where Sanju Samson also became the first player to score 4,000 runs for a single franchise. Three of his five centuries have come batting at number three or lower, a statistic that places him alongside AB de Villiers as the only batters to achieve that feat.
The context of a career-defining IPL 2026 season for CSK
What makes this milestone particularly significant is that Samson is not just reaching it, he is reaching it in the form of his life. In IPL 2026 he has accumulated over 300 runs from eight matches at an average above 50 with a strike rate around 178.
Both of his fifty-plus scores this season have been converted into centuries, including what many are already calling the innings of the tournament, a 101 not out off 54 balls against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede just three days ago that powered CSK to a 103-run victory.
That innings was the Sanju Samson that CSK traded an entire generational barter for, the one who turns up in big matches and makes the total irrelevant. Today against GT however was a quieter story, he was caught by Jos Buttler off Rabada for 11 off 15 balls before Rabada struck again to leave CSK struggling at 26 for 3 in the powerplay.
Where Sanju stands in the all-time list consist of names like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni
The full list of IPL batters to reach 5000 runs tells the story of the tournament's greatest run-scorers. Virat Kohli leads the way with 8,989 runs, followed by Rohit Sharma on 7,183, Shikhar Dhawan on 6,769, David Warner on 6,565, KL Rahul on 5,579, Suresh Raina on 5,528, MS Dhoni on 5,439, Ajinkya Rahane on 5,184, AB de Villiers on 5,162 and now Samson on 5,008.
The fact that he is in that company, alongside the tournament's all-time greats, tells you everything about what Sanju Samson has built across 13 seasons in this competition. The milestone was celebrated with a six. There is no more Samson way to do it than that.
