Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have a tough task ahead of themselves. Although they had some good picks in Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, and Khaleel Ahmed, they spent way too much money on Ravichandran Ashwin and Noor Ahmad (Rs 10 and 9.75 crore).
This means they’ve got just Rs 15.60 crore left in their purse and still have to buy a minimum of six more players at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction.
Middle-order batters needed amid money constraint
CSK had already retained one top-order batter, their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. With the inclusion of Devon Conway (Rs 6.25 crore), Rahul Tripathi (Rs 3.40 crore), and Rachin Ravindra (Rs 4 crore), CSK’s top-order is settled. But barring Vijay Shankar, they’ve not added another batter. Given you need batting from numbers 4 to 7, CSK are definitely short. They’ll need a couple of middle and lower middle-order batters.
CSK can go after Glenn Phillips, Rovman Powell, Daryl Mitchell, Nitish Rana, Shai Hope, and Sherfane Rutherford to strengthen their batting. However, one mustn’t forget they don’t have much money left after paying almost Rs 20 crore to get Noor and Ashwin. Therefore, they can’t pay any player big money without risking the strength of their squad.
Partners for Khaleel & Pathirana
The spin bowling with Ravindra Jadeja, Ashwin, and Noor is more or less covered. They’ve also got some handy part-time orthodox left-arm spin from Ravindra. But they’ll need to improve their pace pack. They need a new ball and middle-overs pacer. Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar would be the best powerplay choices, while Lockie Ferguson and Gerald Coetzee can be their middle-order enforcers.
CSK’s remaining purse & slots left
Chennai Super Kings have Rs 15.60 crore left at the IPL 2025 mega auction before the second day. They have now got 12 players and need 6 more players to fill the minimum slots (18). CSK already had one overseas player, Pathirana. They’ve now gotten three more. So, they can’t buy more than four foreign players tomorrow.
IPL 2025 auction: CSK squad after Day 1
| Player | Role | Price (Rs) |
|---|---|---|
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | Opening batter | 18 crore |
| Ravindra Jadeja | All-rounder | 18 crore |
| Shivam Dube | Batting all-rounder | 12 crore |
| Matheesha Pathirana ✈️ | Fast bowler | 13 crore |
| MS Dhoni | Wicketkeeper batter | 4 crore |
| Devon Conway (wk) ✈️ | Wicketkeeper batter | 6.25 crore |
| Rahul Tripathi | Top-order batter | 3.40 crore |
| Rachin Ravindra ✈️ | Top-order batter | 4 crore |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | Bowling all-rounder | 9.75 crore |
| Khaleel Ahmed | Fast bowler | 4.80 crore |
| Noor Ahmad ✈️ | Leg-spinner | 10 crore |
| Vijay Shankar | Batting all-rounder | 1.20 crore |
