For many seasons, the Chennai Super Kings have had the reputation of being the Dad’s Army. Some of their auction buys would be bargains or surprises. In IPL 2026, the Chennai Super Kings invested heavily in youth. A combined total of 28.4 crore was spent on Karthik Sharma and Prashant Veer, two youngsters from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The first impression is that both Prashant and Karthik will get a long run. When one looks at the dark history of Chennai Super Kings and the way they have handled their expensive buys, it does not make for a good story.
Since Andrew Flintoff was snapped up for USD 1.55 million, the Chennai Super Kings have had a patchy record of handling their most expensive players. If one needs any convincing, one can only look at how an expensive player of the Chennai Super Kings performed in that particular year.
FROM 2012 TO 2025 – A YEAR OF MIXED RETURNS
During the 2012 auction, Ravindra Jadeja was among the most expensive buys, with a bid of close to USD 2 million. The big bucks were a mixed bag for Jadeja in IPL 2012. With the bat, he had a decline with an average of 15 and a strike rate of 126.49. But, on the bowling front, he picked up his only five-wicket haul in his IPL career and ended with 12 wickets at an economy rate of 7.8. But that also hid a story. Before becoming the most expensive, Jadeja had economy rates of 6.47 and 7.26 in the subsequent two IPLs. Thus, he may have picked wickets, but his economy rate suffered.
One of the few who had success despite being an expensive pick was Chris Morris in 2013. Following a good Champions League T20, Morris was bought for USD 625 million, and he played a decent role in Chennai’s run to the final. He finished with 15 wickets at an economy rate of 8.02, which is his best-ever in his IPL career. He would pick 15 wickets only one more time. That was in the 2021 season, but at an economy rate of 9.17.
Faf du Plessis had made a bigger impact for Chennai Super Kings when he played in 2012. When he was bought for 4.75 crore in 2014, he was the franchise’s most expensive purchase. From an average of 33 and 131 in 2012, his average dipped moderately to 27.54 and 128.9.
With Faf, it was not too much gain or too much pain. But in 2015, the trend became visible. Michael Hussey and Irfan Pathan were bought for Rs 1.5 crore. While Pathan did not play a single game, Hussey managed only four games with 77 runs at an average of 19 and a strike-rate of 110. With Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum paving the way with some attacking cricket, Hussey got a chance only in the playoffs, and he struggled.
2018 TO 2025 – BAD LUCK PLAGUES CSK
After their two-year ban ended, Chennai Super Kings returned in 2018 and bought Kedar Jadhav for Rs 7.8 crore at the auction. In the first game, Kedar Jadhav got injured, but he still chipped in with a vital knock to give CSK a thrilling win over the Mumbai Indians. In 2019, Mohit Sharma returned to CSK after a long gap for 5 crores, but he played in only one game. Taking only one wicket and conceding 27, Mohit never got a chance. In 2020, Piyush Chawla was bought for Rs 6.75 crore, but the franchise did not fully utilise him. In seven matches, Chawla took 6 wickets at an economy rate of over 9
But the twist was yet to come. Krishnappa Gowtham became the most expensive uncapped player in IPL history in 2021, when he was picked for Rs 9.25 crore. The shocking thing is that he never played a single game during CSK’s title-winning run.
In 2022, Deepak Chahar was bought for Rs 14 crore, but his back injury ensured he too did not play a single game. Two seasons, two big buys, but not a single game. In 2023, Ben Stokes was bought for Rs 16.25 crore, the most expensive buy in Chennai Super Kings’ history at the time. He played only two games and scored 15 runs, and took no wickets. The number of runs could not surpass his auction tally.
In 2024, Daryl Mitchell was bought for Rs 14 crore, but he did not live up to expectations. 318 runs at an average of 28.91 and a strike rate of 142.6 were not mind-blowing numbers and definitely fell short of the hype. Perhaps, in what could be good news, Noor Ahmad’s performance offers hope that this jinx could end. In 2025, Noor was bought for Rs 10 crore, and he ended up taking 24 wickets at an economy rate of 8.16.
For the past 13 years, the Chennai Super Kings have not utilised their big buys effectively. Either injury or bad form has diluted their returns. One hopes that with the investment in youth, the Chennai Super Kings will turn the corner and bring out the best from both.
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