IPL 2025: Chennai Super Kings retained players, released players and purse remaining ahead of mega auction

The five-time champions, Chennai Super Kings, are one of the most successful franchises in Indian Premier League history but the last cycle did not go well for them. In 2022, Ravindra Jadeja was appointed as the new captain, replacing MS Dhoni but the franchise failed to make a mark. Jadeja left the team mid-season stating injury concerns and Dhoni was reinstated as captain but that did not help as CSK finished ninth on the points table.

Under Dhoni, CSK went on to win the IPL in 2023 - their fifth title in history. They were on the verge of defeat in the final against Gujarat Titans but it was Jadeja who went on to hit a six and a four in the final two deliveries to win them the tournament. In the following year, Dhoni handed the reigns to Ruturaj Gaikwad. However, CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second time in three years.

They are eager to be consistent again in the tournament and for the same reason, the franchise has retained their captain Gaikwad, Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Matheesha Pathirana and Dhoni (uncapped category). They have twisted the price tag set by the IPL committee as Gaikwad and Jadeja were retained for INR 18 crore wach, Dube for INR 12 crore, Pathirana for INR 13 crore and Dhoni for INR 4 crore. 

Meanwhile, they have let go of some of their key players from the past seasons. Ajinkya Rahane, who had a stellar time with the bat in IPL 2023, has been released alongside Deepak Chahar, Shadul Thakur and Mukesh Chowdhury among other Indian cricketers.

Among international stars, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Maheesh Theekshana and Mustafizur Rahman have been released but the team management will be hoping to get a couple of them back in the auction. They can even use the solitary RTM card eft with them if required while the players could be separately targeted in the auction too. 

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) IPL 2025 Retained Player List