CSK did not have the best of seasons in IPL 2024, where under the new skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad they finished fifth. But this IPL 2025 Auction could be a crucial one for the team. Yes, MS Dhoni is playing yet another season, but the team really needs to find a player of his stature, who can not only keep wickets for them, but maybe come close to his larger than life persona. On paper, they have retained 5 players — Dhoni, Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja, who do the job for them, but at IPL Auction, they need a lot more performers.
CSK at the Auction table need to make sure that they just not bid for the players who had served them in the past season, but also look at the future. With this, InsideSport takes a look at the retained players, released players, potential buys, RTMs and purse left for the Chennai-based franchise.
CSK Retained Players
| Players | Price |
| MS Dhoni | 4 Cr |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | 18 Cr |
| Matheesha Pathirana | 13 Cr |
| Shivam Dube | 12 Cr |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 18 Cr |
CSK Released Players
Ajay Mandal, Ajinkya Rahane, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway, Maheesh Theekshana, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, Mukesh Choudhary, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shaik Rasheed, Simarjeet Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman*, Avanish Rao Aravelly.
CSK RTM Card in IPL 2025 Auction
CSK have one RTM card left, and most likely it will be Deepak Chahar. The 32-year-old has been with the franchise since 2018, and churned out good performances in the past. Other options could be Rachin Ravindra and Shardul Thakur as well. But it remains to be seen, how and when the team management uses it.
CSK Potential Buys
In an interaction, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan had already made it clear that the team would like to re-buy their released players. Plus given the amount of money they spent on their retentions, they won’t have much choice either. So, most likely their Kiwi players are coming back, and so is Tushar Deshpande.
CSK Remaining Purse
They are left with INR 55 Cr, and top Indian players like Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul might just be out of their reach for now.
