Follow UsThe Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be left with INR 9.75 Cr in the bank for sure ahead of the next Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2026. The amount could increase depending on the number of players they release ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction, but that INR 9.75 Cr budget is certainly by their side as their stalwart spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bid goodbye to Indian cricket in August this year.
Thus, come IPL 2026 mini auction and CSK would be ready to rope in at least one big fish to lift their game from what was their worst season ever in history in 2025, where they finished last-10th.
Here are three big players that CSK would like to target, either as auction buys or, if possible, also via trade, to fill the gap left by Ashwin by using the amount generated after the off-spinner’s Indian cricket retirement.
Cameron Green is a free agent as far as the IPL is concerned, having not been part of any side as he was out injured during the mega auction of IPL 2025. Now that he is back and is in form too, as shown during the last few series he has played against West Indies and South Africa, the tall all-rounder from Australia could be CSK’s main target.
It would not be easy to get the 26-year-old, as he is certainly a game-changer with both bat and ball and will have the eyes of almost all franchises on him.
Jordan Cox got into the limelight with a stupendous The Hundred and T20 Blast outing in England in 2025. The 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has very little international experience, but whacks the ball so hard to be ignored. In fact, he could be a real game-changer at the top alongside the likes of Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis in the top four for CSK.
It was in the top four that the franchise struggled a lot in 2025, with players unable to get a move on. Cox, who amassed 367 runs batting at number 3 in The Hundred 2025 with an average of 67 and a strike rate of 173, is the ideal player to come in a budget of sub-INR 8 Cr.
If CSK want to have a proper like-for-like replacement, they need to look no further than Washington Sundar at the Gujarat Titans. Sundar, who was sold to the Gujarat Titans at INR 3.2 Cr, can bat in the middle order, bowl off-spin and is from Tamil Nadu, so would get local support as well. Since it is hard to get him in at the auction because GT would likely not release him, the yellow brigade could go for trade.
He did decently in the Titans’ playoffs-reaching IPL 2025 campaign, scoring 133 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 166.25. He also took two wickets in the limited bowling opportunities, sending out only 10.5 overs across five innings.