The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) may soon undergo a significant makeover after a challenging season. The five-time IPL champions are expected to release up to five players prior to the IPL 2026 mini auction, according to a Cricbuzz report. CSK was the first team eliminated in the 2025 Indian Premier League before the season's 50th match was played. They only won two of their first ten games, which was a low point that CSK did not anticipate.
Sam Curran of England, Devon Conway of New Zealand, and the Indian duo of Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, and Deepak Hooda are reportedly on the list. Only a few months have passed after CSK's worst-ever season, in which they finished last in the IPL 2025 standings with just four victories in 14 games.
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The team never settled into a rhythm, even with MS Dhoni back as captain. The team's outdated approach of depending only on seasoned players failed, as a number of senior cricketers struggled with form and fitness.
In the first six overs, CSK scored the fewest runs (693) at the tenth-worst economy rate of 137.50 due to the terrible performances of Tripathi, Shankar, Conway, and Hooda. In addition, CSK lost 29 wickets during the process. That essentially amounts to a 49/2 average score in each powerplay.
Over the course of the tournament, CSK's batters amassed 2315 runs at the lowest strike rate of 138.29. KKR is the next worst, with an SR of 143.20. This is true even though CSK had to deal with the most deliveries (1674) during the competition up until Match 69.
According to people close to the organization, the CSK management intends to "refresh" the squad by adding younger, more dynamic players. Following Ravichandran Ashwin's IPL retirement, the team has already received a financial boost.
After finishing as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the league with 187 wickets in 221 games, Ashwin, who participated in seven games the previous season, announced his retirement in August. The Super Kings now have a significant amount of flexibility going into the mini auction thanks to his departure, which has freed up Rs 9.75 crore in the purse.
CSK could increase their purse by more than Rs 25 crore if the rumored releases of Curran, Conway, Hooda, Tripathi, and Shankar are verified before the retention deadline of November 15. Curran, who was purchased at the 2023 auction for a substantial amount, was never able to duplicate his early IPL success. While Tripathi and Hooda had forgettable seasons, Conway's form has declined significantly since his injury in 2024.
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