Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings will be hoping for a ‘reset’ ahead of the IPL 2026 season after missing out on reaching the Playoffs stage for two years in a row now.
MS Dhoni’s CSK, in fact, faced the ignominy of finishing in last place in the IPL 2025 season.
CSK pulled off one of the biggest trades of the season, bringing home Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson for a salary of Rs 18 crore. In return, they had to trade all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to the Royals.
In spite of this big trade, CSK will still have the second-highest purse of Rs 43.4 crore heading into the IPL 2026 mini auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. Some of the top players they have retained are South African young batter Dewald Brevis, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, former captain Dhoni, Team India all-rounder Shivam Dube, overseas bowlers Nathan Ellis and Noor Ahmad and young opener Ayush Mhatre.
Here is the full list of Retained players by Chennai Super Kings ahead of IPL 2026 season…
| S. No. | Name | Country | Salary |
| 1. | Ayush Mhatre | India | Rs 30 lakh |
| 2. | Anshul Kamboj | India | Rs 3.4 crore |
| 3. | Dewald Brevis | SA | Rs 2.2 crore |
| 4. | Gurjapneet Singh | India | Rs 2.2 crore |
| 5. | Jamie Overton | England | Rs 1.5 crore |
| 6. | Khaleel Ahmed | India | Rs 4.8 crore |
| 7. | MS Dhoni | India | Rs 4 crore |
| 8. | Mukesh Choudhary | India | Rs 30 lakh |
| 9. | Nathan Ellis | Australia | Rs 2 crore |
| 10. | Noor Ahmad | Afghanistan | Rs 10 crore |
| 11. | Ramakrishna Ghosh | India | Rs 30 lakh |
| 12. | Rutura Gaikwad | India | Rs 18 crore |
| 13. | Shivam Dube | India | Rs 12 crore |
| 14. | Shreyas Gopal | India | Rs 30 lakh |
| 15. | Urvil Patel | India | Rs 30 lakh |
| 16. | Sanju Samson (Traded) | India | Rs 18 crore |
Players released by Chennai Super Kings: Andre Siddharth, Deepak Hooda, Devon Conway, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Matheesha Pathirana, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Sam Curran (Traded), Shaik Rasheed, Vansh Bedi, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja (Traded)
Remaining Purse: Rs 43.4 crore
Player bought by Chennai Super Kings at IPL 2026 mini auction
| S. No. | Name | Country | Price |
| 1. | ABC | ABC | ABC |
(More to come)