Follow UsChennai Super Kings (CSK) have five titles in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and they have done that mostly by relying on experienced players. Former CSK captain MS Dhoni was quite open about his love for having experienced campaigners in the set-up, and that yielded him great results.
If we look at CSK’s squad for the IPL 2025, starting on March 22, we will find players who have played a lot of cricket all around the globe. However, that doesn’t mean they have no youngsters in their set-up.
Here, we look at three young CSK stars who could light up the IPL 2025.
The stylish batter from Andhra, Shaik Rasheed has been with CSK for a couple of seasons but is yet to make his IPL debut. The 20-year-old had a terrible Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024 (56 runs @ 11.2) but was in great form before that tournament.
Rasheed was the third-highest run-scorer in the Andhra Premier League (APL) 2024 (297 runs @ 59.4 and a strike rate of 140.8), and also scored 240 runs @ 48 and a strike rate of 145.4 in the SMAT 2023. Rasheed is an all-format player and if given an opportunity, the right-handed batter could give CSK a lot of stability at the top.
A big fan of Hardik Pandya and Brendon McCullum, Vansh Bedi came into the limelight during the inaugural season of Delhi Premier League (DPL) last year. Playing in the middle and lower middle-order, Bedi smashed 221 runs in eight innings at an average of 44.2 and a strike rate of 185.7.
Someone who’s equally good against spin and pace, Bedi can easily be used as a floater, something CSK did with Sameer Rizvi last season.
Now, Kamlesh Nagarkoti has been around for a while. In fact, the 25-year-old comes from the same Under-19 batch that had Shubman Gill but is yet to establish himself at the top level, largely because of regular injuries. Nagarkoti has also played 12 games in the IPL, taking five wickets at an economy rate of 9.50.
Nagarkoti, who hasn’t played a red-ball game since 2022, did play all seven games for Rajasthan in the last edition of SMAT and claimed 10 wickets at an impressive economy of 6.70. A lot of players in the past have managed to turn their fortunes around at CSK and Nagarkoti would be hoping to do the same.