10 Players you never knew were part of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL

Over the last 12 years, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have set a standard and raised the bar every season. Irrespective of how they line-up after the auctions, the MS Dhoni-led side always makes it to the top four. They find a way to become successful and reach the top of the mountain. Moreover, one of their key strengths is continuity. CSK usually don’t chop and change too much. Not only is that true for playing XIs but it is true even before each season, before the auctions. They release only a few players and look to plug in holes, just like they did after the 2019 season when they released just five players. However, there have been times when CSK have bought players and haven’t used them well enough and one of the main reasons for that is the core of the side. With the team doing well, MS Dhoni doesn’t like changing the side too much either. Hence, because of such reasons, there are players who have come and gone in the CSK side and have hardly been noticed. Thus, here we look at 10 players who you never know were a part of the IPL at some point in these last 12 years: 1. David Hussey – 2014 David Hussey. (Photo Source: Twitter) David Hussey featured in each of the first seven seasons of the IPL. The Australian all-rounder was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) side for the first three seasons. He played 23 games before turning out to play for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) between 2011 and 2013. Hussey got a good run as he featured in 36 games across three seasons. In 2014, he was back in the auction pool. He had decent numbers after the first six seasons. But the younger Hussey didn’t attract any buyers and went unsold. However, an injury to Dwayne Bravo saw him get a life as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) roped him in as Bravo’s replacement. Hussey flew in midway through the tournament and played five games for MS Dhoni-led side. He scored 116 runs at an average of 58.00 in that season. He also chipped in with a couple of wickets. 2. Ankit Rajpoot – 2013 Ankit Rajpoot. (Photo Source: Twitter) There are not many who know that Ankit Rajpoot made his IPL debut with Chennai Super Kings (CSK). It was back in 2013 that the Uttar Pradesh pacer made his IPL debut. In fact, Rajpoot had played just one domestic season that when the CSK team management picked him. However, he played just two games in the entire season as CSK made it to the final. The promising fast bowler bowled a couple of overs in each game. He returned with figures of 1/25 and 0/10 in the two games. Rajpoot was released and it was only in 2016 again that he featured in the IPL. It was for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that Rajpoot represented in 2016 and 2017 before moving to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in 2018 and 2019. Ahead of the 2020 season, he has been traded to Rajasthan Royals (RR). 3. George Bailey – 2009, 2010 George Bailey of Australia. (Photo by MARTY MELVILLE/AFP/Getty Images) It was back in February 2012 that George Bailey made his international debut. It was in a T20I against India at the SCG while a month later, he walked out in his maiden ODI. However, much before he shot onto the international scene, Bailey was a part of the IPL. In 2009, the Australian middle-order batsman was bought at his base price of $50,000 by Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He played just three games in the season as he scored 45 runs from two innings. He was retained but again, played a mere one game in the 2010 season in which he struggled and scored a 24-ball 18. Bailey fell out of contention in the IPL but returned in 2014 when he was picked by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and led them to the final. The former Australian skipper also played a handful of games for Rising Pune Supergiant (2016) in 2016. 4. Samuel Badree – 2014 Samuel Badree (Photo by Omar Vega/LatinContent/Getty Images) Samuel Badree is one of those spinners who has largely played only T20 cricket in his career. The West Indian leg-spinner has last played first-class cricket in 2009 and his last 50-over game came back in 2013. Moreover, he has represented the West Indies team only in T20I cricket. In fact, Badree has played four times the number of T20s than the total number of first-class and List ‘A’ games put together. Badree has played three seasons of the IPL and will be remembered for his hat-trick in the 2017 season. He was playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in his debut game for the franchise and picked up 4/9 against Mumbai Indians (MI) which included a hat-trick. However, that wasn’t his first IPL season. He turned out to play one game for Rajasthan Royals (RR) and then played for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2014. However, he didn’t have the best of times. The leg-spinner picked up just two wickets from the four games he played for MS Dhoni and co. 5. Arun Karthik – 2013 Arun Karthik. (Photo Source: TNPL) When you think of Arun Karthik, you think of that last-ball six which he scored in the Champions League (CL) T20 for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). That was in the year 2011. However, RCB wasn’t his first IPL team. The Tamil Nadu batsman made his IPL debut with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2010. However, he played just one game and that too as a pure batsman and didn’t keep wickets. He scored three not out batting at No. 7. In the 2011 IPL season, he moved to RCB. Karthik had turned out to play just three games for RCB in the IPL where they made it to the final. Despite his heroics, Karthik played just one game in the 2012 season before turning out to play 12 games in 2013. 6. Abhinav Mukund – 2008 Abhinav Mukund. (Photo Source: TNPL) At one point, Abhinav Mukund was India’s backup opener in Test cricket. He was constantly summoned upon when the frontline openers were injured but he’s fallen off the radar in the recent past. However, he has continued to pile on the runs in domestic cricket. But that is largely in four-day and List ‘A’ cricket. Mukund isn’t a T20 player and it’s been more than two years since he featured in a T20 game for Tamil Nadu. In fact, the Tamil Nadu opener has been around for more than 12 years but has played just 35 T20s in his career. However, he has featured in the IPL. The left-hander has played three IPL games in his career. Two of them came for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). It was back in 2008 that he featured in two games in the IPL but he batted only in one game and was out for a golden duck. 7. Dirk Nannes – 2013 Dirk Nannes. (Photo Source: Twitter) Dirk Nannes is forever remembered not for his contribution on the field but for his injury in 2011. The Australian fast bowler was bought for a price of $650,000 in the 2011 IPL auction. However, he played just two games and was ruled out of the entire season due to a side strain. It was Chris Gayle who replaced him and the rest his history. However, Nannes has played 29 IPL games and it was largely in 2009 and 2010 seasons. He played 22 games for Delhi and took 22 wickets before he played for RCB. But in 2013, he was picked by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a sum of $600,000. The Melbourne-born fast bowler played five games under MS Dhoni that season. He picked up five wickets and conceded runs at an economy of 7.97. That was the last time he ever featured in the IPL. 8. Thisara Perera – 2010 Thisara Perera (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images) Thisara Perera has featured in six seasons of the IPL and in each of them, he turned out to play for a different team. Between 2010 and 2016, he missed only one season which was 2014. In all, he played 37 games and scored 422 runs at a strike-rate of 137.46. He also took 31 wickets but had an economy of 8.73. It was for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) that he made his IPL debut. He was bought for his base price of $50,000. However, he played just one game in the entire season. In fact, even in that game, he bowled just one over and did not get to bat. In the only over Perera bowled, he was taken for 19 runs and that was the end of his journey with CSK. 9. Vijay Shankar – 2014 Vijay Shankar. (Photo Source: Twitter) There isn’t a lot of difference between Vijay Shankar and Thisara Perera when it comes to playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Both players have played a mere one game and both the all-rounders only bowled one over and didn’t bat. Moreover, both players conceded 19 runs in the only over they bowled. The only difference is that Perera played in 2010 and Shankar played in 2014. That was also Shankar’s IPL debut. He didn’t play for the next couple of seasons but featured in 17 games across 2017 and 2018 for Delhi. In 2019, he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and was a key player. But there are very few people who know that Shankar played for CSK and played just one game. 10. Ronit More Suresh Raina and Ronit More. (Photo Source: Twitter) Ronit More has become one of the premier fast bowlers for Karnataka in the last few years. However, it was back in 2012 that he made his debut. But with Karnataka having a battery of pacers and injuries to deal with, More didn’t play a lot. In fact, since his debut in 2012, More has played just 19 T20s, eight of which came in this season. He has even featured a lot in the IPL. In fact, he has been bought only once in the IPL. The Belgaum-born fast bowler was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at his base price of INR 10 lakh in 2014. After being benched for an entire season, More played a two games in the 2015 season. Across the two games he played, More bowled 5.5 overs but picked up just one wicket. He conceded runs at an economy 10.11. Those two games have been the only ones that More has played in the IPL.

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10 Players you never knew were part of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL

There have been times when CSK have bought players and haven’t used them well enough and one of the main reasons for that is the core of the side.

8. Thisara Perera – 2010

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