We didn’t complete even 50 matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are already eliminated. Sitting at the bottom of the IPL 2025 points table, CSK have won just two of their first ten fixtures. Yes, they did lose skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad midway through the tournament due to an injury, but the performances shown by the franchise have been absolutely poor. Even MS Dhoni hasn’t been able to inspire the players.
Some say CSK were already far behind the other teams right after the IPL 2025 mega auction. CSK persisted with their strategy of banking on veterans. This strategy worked wonders in 2018 but the game has moved on now. You need players who can make an “impact” rather than depending upon just past experience. CSK would love to make alterations to their squad next season but for that, they’d need to get rid of some players to have an appropriate amount of purse to make signings. On that note, let us look at five players CSK should definitely release ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction.
Free up Rs 22.75 by releasing Ashwin & Pathirana
CSK retained five players for a combined fee of Rs 65 crore. That included Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who got Rs 13 crore from the purse. It looked like a sensible deal for CSK at first, having a renowned death bowler who can operate without much pressure.
However, Pathirana’s stocks took a massive nosedive this year. Ever since he has come back from his hamstring injury in 2024, Pathirana has been ineffective. This year, he has so far nine wickets but at an average of 33.11 and at an economy of 10.39. This is a massive drop from his tally of 32 wickets at 16.87 and 7.90 from IPL 2023 to IPL 2024. Releasing him would free up Rs 13 crore for CSK and if they intend to buy him, they can do it as well at the auction for a lesser fee.
Next up is Ravichandran Ashwin, who has had his career-worst season at IPL 2025. It seemed like a family reunion when CSK threw Rs 9.75 crore to sign him at the mega auction. He returned to the franchise where he made his name after a decade. But things haven’t been rosy, as Ashwin has played just seven games, taking five wickets at an average of 44.60. Having now been retired from international cricket, Ashwin would surely not be worth almost ten crores come IPL 2026.
IPL 2026: CSK don’t need Devon Conway
Although we could include more, here are the three remaining players who should be released by CSK. All three batters are above 30 years old and aren’t world-beaters in the T20 format.
Let’s first talk about Devon Conway, who, like Pathirana, has been a shadow of himself since returning from an injury. From IPL 2022 to 2023, Conway was a typical CSK opening batter. He scored 924 runs in 22 innings and operated at an average of almost 49 and had a strike rate of 141.28.
However, Conway missed the entire IPL 2024 due to an injury and since then, he has lost his T20 touch. In fact, since 2024, he has played 33 T20 matches, scoring just 844 runs at an average of 32.4 and at a worrisome strike rate of 124.11. It was his strike rate that caused a stir at IPL 2025 as well, with CSK forced to retire him out in one of the matches. At Rs 6.25 crore, CSK would get better overseas options. They already have Rachin Ravindra, another left-handed Kiwi opener who can also bowl off-spin if needed.
Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda – worst performers?
Two other players who have also consistently underwhelmed are Rahul Tripathi (Rs 3.40 crore) and Deepak Hooda (Rs 1.70 crore). Tripathi, an experienced batter, has been a momentum killer with a strike rate of just 96.49. He’s struggled to convert starts into substantial scores, averaging a paltry 11.00 and managing only 55 runs from 57 balls across five innings. CSK gave him chances in the initial phase of the tournament but he’s well past his prime.
Hooda’s performances have been even more dismal. His strike rate of 75.61 is woefully inadequate in modern T20 cricket, and his 31 runs across five innings have been a poor return on investment. Yes, he batted lower down the order but there are no excuses for having an average of 6.20. In fact, barring one season, Hooda has never had an IPL campaign with an average more than 18.20 in the last five years!
CSK squad for IPL 2025
Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, Deepak Hooda, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni(w/c), Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Anshul Kamboj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Jamie Overton, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi, Shreyas Gopal, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Andre Siddarth C, Vansh Bedi, Ruturaj Gaikwad & Gurjapneet Singh
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