CSK Players, If Released Before IPL 2027, Might Prove To Be Biggest Blunders

Three players CSK would regret releasing [Source: AP]

The IPL 2026 playoffs started on Tuesday night in Dharamsala, but for the third year in a row, the joint-most successful team in the league’s history, Chennai Super Kings, are absent from the final stages of the tournament.

Having finished at the rock bottom of the points table in IPL 2025, the Men in Yellow underwent a squad overhaul in the auction for IPL 2026. Yet, the team failed to break into the final four after what was a topsy-turvy season for them.

With a young squad, they had moments throughout the season where some of their stars showed why they belong in this franchise, while in some matches, CSK failed to pose any challenge for the opposition. By the end of the league phase, they were in 8th place on the points table with only 4 wins in 14 matches.

As they look to find their lost glory in IPL 2027, we take a look at the players that CSK must not release into the auction.

Players CSK would regret releasing in IPL 2027 auction

1. Prashant Veer

The 20-year-old Prashant Veer was one of the uncapped players in IPL 2026 roster who made a lot of buzz after he was picked by CSK for INR 14.20 crore, after an intense bid-war involving CSK, KKR, SRH, LSG and MI.

Veer played 6 matches in the tournament, where he got to bowl only once, and he bowled 2 overs, 0/25. With the bat, he scored 90 runs in 5 innings at a strike rate of 134.32. Despite not doing anything out of the world, he is a highly sought-after young prospect. He lit the stage on fire in UPT20 2025 as well.

Additionally, he did not have a defined role in the team. Hence, CSK should keep faith in the youngster and give him time to develop before jumping the gun and releasing him.

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(Prashant Veer's stats in UPT20 2025)

2. Dewald Brevis

Yet another young talent, who just turned 23, Dewald Brevis has emerged as one of the most fiery middle-order batters in T20 cricket over the last 18 months. Despite going unsold in the IPL 2025 auction, he delivered a 225-run season in 6 innings at 180 as an injury replacement.

However, he failed to replicate similar performances in IPL 2026, where he got only 151 runs in 8 innings at a strike rate of 127.96. He also batted a bit lower than where he bats for South Africa and the Pretoria Capitals in SA20, which could have also affected his performances.

Moving forward, at 23, he has already earned enough credits to be retained by the Super Kings in IPL 2027. During SA20 earlier in 2025/26, he also showed his ability to bat under pressure, batting during collapses, including a century in the final.

With a career T20 strike rate of 152.40 in 146 matches, scoring 3391 runs, he is someone who can be the player around whom the batting lineup is built for years to come and releasing him would interest a lot of teams to pounce on the opportunity.

3. Nathan Ellis

The Australian fast bowler, Nathan Ellis, did not feature in any of the IPL 2026 due to a hamstring injury, but after releasing Matheesha Pathirana in the auction, he was supposed to be their go-to option with the old ball.

While Jamie Overton proved his worth with a consistent starting time this season, Nathan Ellis is yet another name who can complement Overton as an all-phase bowler. He is among the most consistent T20 performers for both Australia and Hobart Hurricanes.

Since the start of 2025, he has picked 15 powerplay wickets at an economy rate of just 8.24 runs per over, while in the overs 10 to 20, he has 31 wickets in 31 innings, conceding 8.47 runs per over. In modern-day T20 cricket, these numbers prove his reliability, especially in the second half of the innings, where his variations come to the fore.

He should get starting time alongside the likes of Anshul Kamboj and Jamie Overton in the first-choice XI.

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