CSK suffered their fifth successive loss in Chepauk last night.
Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting coach Sanjay Bangar has revealed two bowlers whom the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) might release from their squad after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
The former India coach believes that veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana might not be part of the CSK dressing room in the next IPL season. He predicted that the management could release these two players to find their replacements at a lesser price at the IPL 2026 player auction.
“Whether they retain Ashwin or not is going to be another big question because that’s where the money is locked in. They might not want to use Ashwin as much as they have used in this particular season. So, probably out of those big-ticket players, those are the two players (Ashwin and Pathirana) that they might just think of whether they want to keep them or maybe find a replacement for them,” said Bangar.
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Former Chennai player Harbhajan Singh also agreed with Bangar. He also criticised CSK for not playing Ashwin against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) last night. Moreover, Harbhajan opined that the result of the match might have been different if Ashwin had been in the playing XI.
“Chennai didn’t select the team based on conditions. Had Noor Ahmad, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja played together against Punjab Kings, Chennai Super Kings could have won the match. You didn’t pay INR 10 crore for Ashwin to bench him,” he stated.
The five-time IPL champions have had a disastrous season in the IPL 2025. With their four-wicket defeat against the PBKS, they have become the first team to be eliminated from the race for the playoffs qualification.
This was their fifth consecutive home defeat and eighth overall. The Men in Yellow managed to win only two out of their 10 matches in the league so far.
However, CSK will look to finish their season on a high with the remaining four matches. M.S. Dhoni and Co. will go head-to-head with RCB at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on May 3.
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