New Delhi, Dec 17 Former India cricketer Abhinav Mukund made an interesting observation in Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) squad after the team formed a 25-member team after the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, noting that the five-time champions have one wicketkeeper from every decade; teen, 20s, 30s, 40s.
CSK have four wicketkeepers in their squad, 19-year-old Kartik Sharma, who is in his teens; Urvil Patel, in his 20s; Sanju Samson, in his 30s; and MS Dhoni, in his 40s.
The Men in Yellow had a good outing at the auction, which took place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, and invested heavily in youth as they aimed to build a futuristic team. Notable inclusions were youngsters Prashant Veer from Uttar Pradesh and Kartik Sharma of Rajasthan, as the duo fetched Rs. 14.20 crores each to become the joint-costliest uncapped players in the tournament’s history.
Mukund opined that CSK made a massive ‘tectonic shift’ in their approach and dubbed the current squad ‘a very different side.’ Analysing their auction strategy and outcome, Mukund said, “I think CSK have put together a pretty solid side. Their retentions earlier were always based on what had worked for them in the past, but now everything is out of the window. For 2026, it’s almost like a 30 per cent investment in wicketkeepers.”
“They now have one from every decade — one in his teens, one in his 20s, one in his 30s and one in his 40s. On a serious note, this is a complete reset for CSK. Just imagine the number of meetings they must have had before arriving at these decisions, because this is a legacy franchise built on one system, one belief, and strong player loyalty.
“Every player who has represented CSK has spoken about how much they love the environment. Now, there are players who have never experienced that system and are coming into it for the first time. This is a huge shift, a tectonic shift in CSK’s approach. This doesn’t look like the CSK team we’re used to seeing, with overseas openers, an international all-rounder in the middle, and a tall overseas fast bowler from Australia or South Africa. This is a very different CSK side,” he added.
CSK Squad for IPL 2026: Anshul Kamboj, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Gurjapneet Singh, Jamie Overton, Khaleel Ahmed, MS Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Nood Ahmad, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Urvil Patel, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma, Dasun Shanaka, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes
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