Chennai Super Kings have been one of the most consistent performers in the IPL. They have won the IPL thrice in 2010, 2011, and 2018. CSK has reached the playoffs of the IPL almost each and every season. The only year they missed to make the playoffs was in 2020 when they finished seventh on the points table. Chennai Super Kings has been a team that has backed the proven players who have done well either at the international level or domestic level.
Over the years, CSK has backed some local talent who would know the conditions in Chepauk better than anybody else. The likes of Murali Vijay, R Ashwin, and Subramanian Badrinath have been hugely successful for CSK in the past. But there are a few Tamil Nadu players who didn’t get the opportunity to represent CSK in the IPL. So, let’s have a look at five such players who have never played for CSK in the IPL.
5. Murugan Ashwin
Murugan Ashwin is a leg-spinner who has been a part of the IPL for the last 2-3 years. Ashwin was first picked in the Rising Pune Supergiant team under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. He did fairly well but didn’t keep his place in the side. In the last three years, he has played for RCB and KXIP.
Last year he had a great season with Kings XI Punjab as he picked up 10 wickets in 9 games. Even though Ashwin is a Tamil Nadu off-spinner he hasn’t been a part of the Chennai Super Kings team. MS Dhoni loves spinners and so it won’t be a surprise if he is picked up by the CSK team in the Mega Auction next year.
4. T Natarajan
The left-arm pacer from Tamil Nadu has become a household name in a matter of three months. T Natarajan got an opportunity with the Sunrisers Hyderabad which led to an India debut in all three formats. He has been brilliant for India, especially in the white-ball formats.
Natarajan has been a star in the Tamil Nadu Premier League but despite his good performances, CSK didn’t pick him. He was a part of the KXIP squad and then moved to SRH. CSK has good pacers in Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar and hence CSK might have nave thought of a new bowler but he has done a great job and every team will be wary of him in the next IPL season.
3. Varun Chakravarthy
Tamil Nadu’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy played his first IPL season for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2020. He was a part of the KXIP squad in 2019 but injuries didn’t allow him to play many games. He was brilliant for KKR as he got an India call-up but couldn’t make it due to an injury.
Chakravarthy hasn’t played for CSK but while playing against Chennai Super Kings in the last season he got the wicket of MS Dhoni twice in two games. He bamboozled the best wicket-keeper against the spinners as MS Dhoni had no clue. Chakravarthy did a great job for KKR and there is no way that KKR will release him but if given an option CSK would love to have him in the team.
2. Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar who was kept as a net bowler for the India-Australia Test series has made his Test debut and impressed everybody with his all-round skills in the fourth Test against Australia. Sundar first came into the limelight when he was picked in the Rising Pune Supergiant side in IPL 2017 as a replacement for R Ashwin.
He had a great IPL which gave him a chance to play for RCB and make his India debut in the white-ball formats. It is surprising that Sundar hasn’t played for CSK in the IPL and with a Mega Auction next year there is a high chance that he will be with the CSK team in IPL 2022.
1. Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik famously said that he was expecting Chennai Super Kings to bid for him in the first-ever IPL Auction but CSK opted for another wicket-keeper batsman which was the right decision. Karthik has been part of the IPL for the last 13 years and he has played for many IPL teams but he has never played for Chennai Super Kings.
Karthik has been a part of the KKR squad for the last three seasons and has done fairly well but he resigned as KKR captain midway in the last season. With age not on his side, Karthik might find it difficult to make it in the CSK side in the near future.
