Subramaniam Badrinath could not get a place Sarfaraz Khan While choosing the 12-member Chennai Super Kings (CSK) squad after the IPL 2026 mini-auction. Sarfaraz lost his place in the Indian Test team but performed well for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year. In the IPL auction this week, Sarfaraz was snapped up by CSK for his base price of Rs 75 lakh.
CSK entered the auction with the second-highest purse of Rs 43.4 crore. He invested heavily in youth with a view to the future. The five-time champions acquired the services of Prashant Veer and Karthik Sharma for Rs 14.2 crore. Badrinath told what kind of pressure both the youngsters will feel while batting in the middle order.
“The position between Dubey and Dhoni was needed. But it is unknown how Karthik Sharma will perform in that position. Because it is a very difficult role, batting at No. 5 or 6. There is high pressure with low chances of success in that role unless you are really good,” he said on Star Sports.
“Same is the case for the batsman coming after Dhoni. So both these youngsters will be given high-pressure roles. It looks like a good 11, but a lot will depend on how these two uncapped players perform. Given the high pressure of their roles, it is going to test them a lot,” he said.
Will Prashant Veer and Karthik Sharma be included in the playing eleven together? Badrinath's opinion
Badrinath believes that Ruturaj Gaikwad's captaincy style will decide whether Prashant Veer and Karthik Sharma feature together in CSK's playing XI in the upcoming season. The former Indian batsman told what he would have thought about this if MS Dhoni had been the captain.
Badrinath said, “Whether both will play in the 11 or not will depend on the leadership style. Dhoni is no longer the captain. But my experience knowing Dhoni is that the price does not guarantee a place in the 11 for him. Whether you pick a player for Rs 15 crore or Rs 1 crore, if the player is good for a particular role, he will play. But if he does not fit in the scheme of things then he will not play irrespective of the price. That was Dhoni's leadership style.”
“But now with Ruturaj, his inputs will matter a lot on this. He is also a young player so it remains to be seen what he does. Whether the price warrants a place, we don't know yet. But that was not necessarily the case with Dhoni. He was certain that whether it was Ben Stokes or Andrew Flintoff or any of the big players, if that player did not fit into his plans, he would not play.”
Subramaniam Badrinath's CSK playing 12 for IPL 2026: Ayush Mhatre, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dubey, Karthik Sharma, MS Dhoni, Prashant Veer, Nathan Ellis, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmed.
Effect Sub: Rahul Chahar.
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