5 players CSK may release after IPL 2024 exit ft. Ajinkya Rahane

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered a rare reverse this IPL season when they were thrown out of the playoffs race by their old foes Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, May 18.

CSK are one of the most successful franchises in the history of the tournament with five titles. They seemed primed to enter the playoffs before losing to RCB in their final group game.

The Chennai-based franchise are known to develop players by grooming them from the beginning, which has marked them apart from their competitors, who spend big money on stars.

Despite their philosophy, there might be a few players whom the franchise will be keen on letting go after their untimely exit from IPL 2024 on Saturday. In this listicle, we take a look at five such players.

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#1 Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane was in poor form for CSK all season. [Image Credit: BCCI]

Veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane, who arrived at the IPL on the back of a title-winning Ranji Trophy campaign as Mumbai captain, did not have the best of times at the top of the order.

It has to be said that although Rahane was going through a poor run of form in the Ranji Trophy as well, a format change was expected to see him flourish.

However, he did not find his feet at all this season, and the franchise's persisting with him at the top of the order was seen to be over-indulgent at times, especially as his highest score was only 45 in the twelve innings he played.

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#2 Deepak Chahar

The medium pacer got injured at the wrong time for CSK this season but it has to be said that he did not hit his best form when he was playing consistently either. Although he is known to swing the ball well, Chahar was far from his best this season and ended up with just five wickets.

Owing to his lack of performance, CSK may let him go at the end of this year. The Rajasthan seamer has been with the franchise for quite some time and will be expected to be treated kindly, but the latter may not see it that way.

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#3 Moeen Ali

Moeen Ali, another foreigner who has been with the franchise since 2021, did not have the best of seasons this time around. He was primarily taken in the side to play as the spin-bowling all-rounder and use his skills well to extract advantage over other teams on turning surfaces.

However, he did not perform the role allotted to him as well as the franchise would have liked him to, and as a result, was left out of the team towards the latter half of the tournament.

The Englishman, who scored just one half-century this season, maybe let go by the franchise if they are keen on recruiting another spin-bowling all-rounder.

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#4 Daryl Mitchell

Kiwi batter Daryl Mitchell, who was purchased by the franchise for a whopping ₹14 crore in the auction preceding this season, had an underwhelming campaign. He was mainly picked for his big-hitting abilities in the middle-order but his failure to leave a lasting impression may end up going his way.

Mitchell's big price tag may also be a reason why CSK let him go ahead of their next campaign.

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#5 Shardul Thakur

Workhorse Shardul Thakur, renowned for his ability to hit the right areas with the ball whenever given the opportunity, did not have the best of times in this IPL campaign.

The Mumbai and India seamer had just three wickets to his name in eight matches until he picked up two for 61 against RCB in his franchise's final game this season. Thakur was rather expensive in this campaign for CSK, and the franchise may choose to let him go despite him being a part of their family from 2018 to 2021.

He was acquired by them in the auction preceding this season for a whopping price of ₹4 crore - an investment that the India Cements group may feel has gone wasted.