The Chennai Super Kings' attempt to bring Washington Sundar to Chepauk for the 2026 Indian Premier League has failed. The Gujarat Titans rejected CSK's trade offer for the India all-rounder, ending an attempt to restructure Chennai's spin core following a significant change.
The Indian Express reports that the Gujarat Titans have turned down CSK's offer for Sundar, despite the five-time winners' strong desire to sign the off-spinner all-rounder who was born in Chennai.
According to the report, CSK's action coincided with their impending completion of a high-profile trade involving Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja with the Rajasthan Royals. Chennai was actively looking for Indian spin possibilities to maintain the team's long-standing spin-first identity, as R Ashwin had already retired and Jadeja might be leaving.
Given the Jadeja-Samson transfer, Noor Ahmad, an Afghan left-arm wrist-spinner, is currently CSK's only reliable front-line spinner. Sundar would have been reunited with Stephen Fleming, under whom he originally established himself as a powerplay specialist at Rising Pune Supergiants, and that spin roster is pushing them to try Sundar.
The Titans, however, have stated unequivocally that they consider Sundar to be a crucial component of their future strategy. Although the franchise only utilized him in six games after purchasing him for INR 3.2 crore prior to the 2025 season, his value has subsequently significantly increased. Sundar has established himself as an all-format Indian cricketer over the past year, and his enhanced power-hitting—which was demonstrated during the T20I series in Australia—has given his reputation a new facet.
According to the report, the Titans are reluctant to let go of him because they see him as a multi-phase bowler who can play at any point in the innings and as a batter who offers versatility with strokes all over the park and the ability to improvise, even having the potential to inflict damage as an opener.
After the Impact Player rule was implemented, Sundar's IPL performance declined, and Sunrisers Hyderabad regularly benched him throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons. At a time when good Indian spinners are hard to come by and most teams are hesitant to field two foreign spinners due to balance concerns, Gujarat has decided to hang onto him.
The failure of the Sundar deal means that CSK, who have traditionally constructed their starting lineup around players like Muttiah Muralitharan, R Ashwin, Shadad Jakati, and later Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir, and Harbhajan Singh, would have to search elsewhere to fill a critical spin spot at the IPL 2026 auction.
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