Chennai Super Kings started IPL 2026 with three losses, turning attention to ₹14.2 cr recruit Prashant Veer. Bought as Ravindra Jadeja’s replacement, his bowling remains largely unused. Management’s tactics under Ruturaj Gaikwad are questioned, with past injury and ‘Impact Player’ rule cited.
Chennai Super Kings, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, had a disappointing start to their campaign in IPL 2026, as they suffered three successive losses, two away and one at home, with the latest being against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
In their opening match against the Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings lost by eight wickets while defending a 127-run total in Guwahati. In the second outing, the five-time IPL champions failed to defend a 209-run total, resulting in a five-wicket defeat at the hands of the Punjab Kings at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.
In the third match against the RCB, the CSK failed to chase down a 251-run target set by the defending champions, losing the contest by 43 runs, despite a fighting 43-run cameo from Prashant Veer. In the first three outings, the Chennai Super Kings were defeated twice while defending the totals and once while chasing a massive score, highlighting their early struggles in the season.
Also Read: R Ashwin on IPL retirement: CSK homecoming was ‘mentally disturbing’
The Curious Case of Prashant Veer
As the Chennai Super Kings lost their three successive matches of the ongoing IPL season, the focal point of discussion wasn’t about the five-time champions but about their INR 14.2 crore recruit, Prashant Veer. Veer became the joint-most expensive uncapped Indian player when the Chennai franchise broke the bank to acquire the services of the Uttar Pradesh all-rounder at the IPL 2026 mini-auction last year.
After trading Ravindra Jadeja to the Rajasthan Royals, the CSK was left with a gap in their all-rounder department, which they hoped Prashant Veer would fill. His impressive showing in the UP T20 League last year, where he aggregated 370 runs, including three fifties, at an average of 64.00, and picked 8 wickets at an economy rate of 6.69 in 10 matches.
However, Prashant Veer wasn’t utilised enough by the team. Despite being acquired as an all-rounder, the 20-year-old has yet to bowl in the tournament. Veer broke into the IPL scene with a 29-ball 43 against the RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, but that innings remains his only notable contribution in IPL 2026 so far.
Scroll to load tweet…
Though Prashant Veer performed well in the last UP T20 League season and had a decent outing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26, scoring 112 runs at an average of 37.33 and picking nine wickets at an average of 18.77, showcasing his true all-round potential, the CSK management has largely restricted him to a batting role, leaving his bowling skills unused.
How Veer’s All-Rounder Was Underutilised?
Chennai Super Kings’ acquisition of all-rounder Prashant Veer by bidding him for a staggering INR 14.2 crore, meaning the team is effectively paying over ₹1 crore per league-stage match, the 20-year-old has barely been utilised, having bowled no overs so far and made just a single notable contribution with the bat.
In the match against the Rajasthan Royals, the UP all-rounder was left out of the playing XI, but made his IPL debut against the Punjab Kings, only to be used solely as a batsman and not given a chance to bowl. The same pattern was repeated in the third match against RCB, where Veer again played only as a batsman, scoring 43 runs, while his bowling skills remained completely untapped.
Despite the Chennai Super Kings’ bowling unit struggling to contain the opposition runs in the last two matches, the skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, didn’t bring Prashant Veer into the attack to control the scoring, leaving the team’s expensive all-rounder underutilised and raising questions about CSK’s tactical approach and team selection in IPL 2026.
In just two matches so far, Prashant Veer has scored just 49 runs at an average of 49.00 at a strike rate of 136.11.
The UP all-rounder was seen as Ravindra Jadeja’s successor, as they both are left-arm spinners and handy lower-order hitters, but CSK management’s reluctance to use Veer’s bowling means the team hasn’t fully leveraged the all-round capabilities they invested heavily in.
Why Prashant Veer Wasn’t Given Bowling?
The Chennai Super Kings’ underutilization of Prashant Veer as an all-rounder sparked questions about their tactics and team balance. The all-rounder was added to the squad to fill the shoes left by the long-time CSK star Ravindra Jadeja, but his utilisation has been restricted only to the batting, leaving his bowling skills completely untapped.
It was reported that Prashant Veer had a Grade 2 shoulder tear, sustained during a Ranji Trophy match in January this year and underwent rehabilitation at the BCCI CoE in Bengaluru. However, there was an uncertainty over his participation in the tournament, but he was eventually cleared to play. This may have influenced the management’s cautious approach.
With the ‘Impact Player’ Rule, CSK’s management may have felt less pressure to use Prashant Veer as a bowler, preferably to rely on specialist bowlers for four-over spells, which reduced the necessity of deploying batting-focused all-rounders in the attack. Therefore, Veer’s bowling remained largely unused, and his role was largely limited to the lower-order batting.
Moreover, in the matches against the Punjab Kings and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, CSK persistently refrained from giving Veer any overs with the ball, even though the conditions and match situations might have warranted the spin, leading critics to label the decision odd given his dual‑skill profile and hefty INR 14.2 crore price tag.
Also Read: IPL 2026: CSK stuck to a bad plan without intervention, says Ambati Rayudu