Chennai Super Kings have had a turbulent IPL 2026 run, mixing flashes of quality with a start that never quite settled. Under Ruturaj Gaikwad’s leadership, the five-time champions are currently placed seventh and still mathematically in the hunt for a play-off spot. However, with their position precarious, CSK’s chances are increasingly tied to results elsewhere as they gear up to play Gujarat Titans in their final league match on May 21.
At a glance
- CSK are seventh in the IPL 2026 standings with a qualification race still alive.
- The team play Gujarat Titans today, May 21, in their last group-stage match.
- A third straight season without a play-off berth is a real possibility for the five-time champions.
- Subramaniam Badrinath has criticised CSK’s management decisions around the 2025 mega auction and the squad approach for 2026.
- Badrinath questioned why CSK did not push an extra INR 50 lakh for KL Rahul, while spending INR 14.20 crore each on Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer.
- CSK’s new signing Sanju Samson arrived ahead of IPL 2026 in an INR 18 crore trade.
With the prospect of a third consecutive year outside the play-offs hanging over CSK, questions have grown about whether this is a rebuilding phase—or the ripple effect of contentious decisions made during the recent auction cycle and subsequent squad planning. The timing is especially sensitive, given how quickly T20 leagues punish uneven form and how brutally margins can swing when key roles do not click together.
Badrinath reopens the KL Rahul debate
Former India batter Subramaniam Badrinath, who had already taken CSK to task earlier, has returned to the same line of criticism. He had previously argued that CSK missed out on one of the most reliable batters in IPL history, KL Rahul, during the 2025 mega auction. That bidding contest had included a battle with Delhi Capitals, which ultimately won Rahul at INR 14 crore.
In fresh comments, Badrinath again targeted CSK’s auction strategy and how it translated into the squad they built for 2026. He highlighted what he sees as a mismatch in approach: CSK reportedly stopped short of pushing beyond INR 14 crore for Rahul, yet they later paid INR 14.20 crore each for two uncapped players—Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer—before the new season began.
Badrinath also questioned the thinking behind CSK backing away from Rahul during the bidding war, or whether the decision was simply a part of a broader “process” the franchise insists on following. His core point was that Rahul could have been secured with a relatively small additional amount, while the later spending landed on players with far higher uncertainty.
“You’ve given 14 crores each for Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer. But what did you do in the Mega auction for KL Rahul? You bid for him until 13.5 crores. DC got him for 14 crores. If you just went for another 50 lakhs, you could have got KL Rahul. So, you won’t go for 14 or 15 crores for KL Rahul, but willingly go for a youngster at the same price in the mini auction. Is this part of the ‘Process’?” Badrinath said on his YouTube channel.
His argument gains traction in the context of CSK’s recent batting reliance on younger faces. Over the last two seasons, the franchise has leaned heavily on its emerging batting group, while established contributors have struggled at times to consistently set the tone from the front. That has added pressure to newer additions as well, including Sanju Samson, who joined CSK ahead of IPL 2026 in a high-value INR 18 crore trade.
Since moving to Delhi Capitals, Rahul has operated in multiple batting roles—anchoring, batting in the middle order, and finishing when required—without losing his rhythm. Even when his position and responsibilities shifted during his first DC campaign, he still produced another 500-plus run season at an average of around 54.
That form has carried into IPL 2026, where Rahul has already logged his eighth season of 500-plus runs since making his IPL debut in 2013. Across IPL matches, he has accumulated more than 5,700 runs in 149 innings, underlining why his availability has continued to be discussed as a missed opportunity.
“KL Rahul would have been an excellent fit with CSK”
Returning to the central theme of fit and timing, Badrinath said Rahul would have suited CSK’s needs. He suggested CSK would not have had to give up close to INR 20 crore worth of resources involving players such as Jadeja and Curran to make room for Samson, had Rahul been secured earlier. In his view, stopping just short of Rahul during the mega auction and then looking elsewhere created a preventable cost.
Badrinath also pointed to the impact of CSK’s investments in uncapped talent at a premium. Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer were signed for INR 14.20 crore each and became the joint-most expensive uncapped players in IPL history. Yet, so far, neither has fully converted their price tags into consistent returns on the field.
Kartik has made 10 appearances and has scored 276 runs at a strike rate of around 137, a figure that Badrinath and others might interpret as containing promise and reliability. Prashant, however, has faced a tougher start, managing 90 runs in six matches and still searching for his first IPL wicket.
“KL Rahul would have been an excellent fit with CSK. You wouldn’t have had to give up close to 20 crores worth with Jadeja and Curran, to get Samson. Instead, you were unwilling to go an extra 50 lakhs and let Rahul go to DC. These mistakes, as part of the processes are so glaring. What you did then is costing you now,” Badrinath remarked.
For CSK, all of this debate now sits alongside an immediate, match-day reality: the final league-stage game against Gujarat Titans on May 21. With their play-off hopes hanging by a thread, the franchise will need its batting to settle quickly and its bowling to execute with precision—because in IPL 2026, even the smallest margin can determine whether a season ends in contention or disappointment.
