Before the start of IPL 2026, Chennai Super Kings have played a big bet. 5-time champion team CSK has appointed former England cricketer James Foster as the new fielding coach. He will now work closely with head coach Stephen Fleming, batting coach Michael Hussey and bowling coach Eric Simmons.

Chennai Super Kings confirmed through social media that James Foster will be the team’s fielding coach. He was a wicket-keeper batsman for England and represented the England team in 18 international matches. He scored 226 runs in his 7 Test matches, whereas he could score only 41 runs in 11 ODI matches.

Say Yellove to our fielding coach James Foster!

Former England wicketkeeper and a coach with experience across teams worldwide, he now kicks off this new chapter with the Pride. #WhistlePodu #Dencoming pic.twitter.com/hXkWDBiqEX

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 16, 2026

Worked with KKR

This will not be the first time that James Foster will work with an IPL team. He has been the fielding coach of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2020. In November 2022, he was appointed the assistant coach of Kolkata Knight Riders. He is now going to work together with Chennai Super Kings.

James Foster has not been able to do much in his international career, but his first-class figures have been excellent. In his mammoth first-class career of 289 matches, he scored 13,761 runs. During this period he played 23 centuries and 70 half-centuries. In his first-class career as a wicketkeeper, he took 839 catches and made 62 stumpings.

Talking about Chennai Super Kings, they have to play their first match in IPL 2026 against Rajasthan Royals on March 30, which will be played in Guwahati. After this, he has to play matches with Punjab Kings on 3 April, Royal Challengers Bangalore on 5 April and Delhi Capitals on 11 April.

Also read:

From CSK to RCB, squads of all 10 teams of IPL 2026; Know who has announced the captaincy

India and Chennai Super Kings star player MS Dhoni has started practicing for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). Jharkhand State Cricket Association shared a video of Dhoni, in which he is wearing pads and then taking out his bat from the cover. This video is becoming increasingly viral on social media.

A video during MS Dhoni’s practice was shared from the official social media page of Jharkhand State Cricket Association, in which Saurabh Tiwari is also seen with him. Let us tell you that former cricketer Saurabh Tiwari is currently holding the post of Secretary in JSCA. He has played with Dhoni in IPL.

MS Dhoni starts practicing for IPL 2026

MS Dhoni has made Chennai Super Kings the champion 5 times under his captaincy, he left the captaincy of the team twice but due to other reasons had to take command again. Currently, Ruturaj Gaikwad is the captain of the team, this time the team has also included Sanju Samson in its squad through trade. Sanju is being considered as Dhoni’s successor, so it will be interesting to see whether Dhoni will play as an impact player or keep wickets in IPL 2026 or not?

chennai super kings squad 2026

Anshul Kamboj (Retain), Gurjapaneet Singh (Retain), Jamie Overton (Retain), MS Dhoni (Retain), Mukesh Choudhary (Retain), Nathan Ellis (Retain), Noor Ahmed (Retain), Ramakrishna Ghosh (Retain), Sanju Samson (Trade), Ruturaj Gaikwad (Retain), Shivam Dubey (Retain), Ayush Mhatre (Retain), Dewald Brevis (Retain), Urvil Patel (Retain), Khaleel Ahmed (retained), Shreyas Gopal (retained), Akeal Hosein (sold), Prashant Veer (sold), Karthik Sharma (sold), Matthew Short (sold), Aman Khan (sold), Sarfaraz Khan (sold), Matt Henry (sold), Rahul Chahar (sold), Zakari Foulkes (sold).

Chennai Super Kings spent Rs 41 crore to buy 9 players in IPL 2026. The franchise spent more than Rs 28 crore on 2 uncapped players. The salary of both will be more than 3 times that of MS Dhoni. The team’s squad of 25 players has been completed, Rs 2 crore 40 lakh is also left in the purse.

Chennai Super Kings had included Sanju Samson in their squad through trade before the IPL 2026 auction. Sanju’s salary is Rs 18 crore. Including Samson, CSK had retained a total of 16 players, out of which 4 were foreigners. The slots of 9 players of the team were vacant, which have now been filled.

CSK’s most expensive player in IPL 2026 auction

Karthik Sharma and Prashant Veer were the most expensive players bought by Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2026 auction. Both are uncapped players, whose base price was only Rs 30 lakh. But other teams also showed interest in him, due to which his price kept increasing. Chennai bought Karthik for Rs 14.2 crore and Prashant for Rs 14.2 crore, which means the franchise spent a total of Rs 28.4 crore on these two players.

Chennai Super Kings Squad 2026 (With Price)

1. Anshul Kamboj (Retained) – 3.4 crores
2. Gurjapneet Singh (Retained) – 2.2 crores
3. Jamie Overton (Retained) – Rs 1.5 crore
4. MS Dhoni (Retained) – 4 crores
5. Mukesh Chaudhary (Retained) – 30 lakhs
6. Nathan Ellis (Retained) – Rs 2 crore
7. Noor Ahmed (Retained) – Rs 10 crore
8. Ramakrishna Ghosh (retained) – 30 lakhs
9. Sanju Samson (Trade) – 18 crores
10. Ruturaj Gaikwad (Retained) – 18 crores
11. Shivam Dubey (Retained) – 12 crores
12. Ayush Mhatre (Ret.) – 30 lakhs
13. Dewald Brevis (retained) – 2.2 crores
14. Urvil Patel (Retained) – 30 lakhs
15. Khaleel Ahmed (Retained) – 4.8 crores
16. Shreyas Gopal (Retained) – 30 lakhs
17. Akeal Hosein (Sold) – 2 Crore
18. Prashant Veer (Sold) – 14.2 crores
19. Karthik Sharma (Sold) – 14.2 crores
20. Matthew Short (Sold) – Rs 1.5 crore
21. Aman Khan (Sold) – 40 lakhs
22. Sarfaraz Khan (Sold) – 75 lakhs
23. Matt Henry (Sold) – Rs 2 crore
24. Rahul Chahar (Sold) – Rs 5.2 crore
25. Zachary Foulkes (Sold) – 75 lakhs

Bought these players including Sarfaraz at base price

Chennai Super Kings bought Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Akeal Hosein, Matthew Short and Zakari Foulkes at their base price in the IPL 2026 auction.

The mini auction for IPL 2026 will be held in Abu Dhabi on 16th December. Chennai Super Kings has a purse of Rs 43.4 crore available in the auction, in which it can buy a maximum of 9 players. CSK currently has 4 foreign players in its squad, it can buy maximum 4 foreign players in the auction. Know which 3 players can be the target of CSK.

liam livingston

The base price of England all-rounder Liam Livingston is Rs 2 crore. Last year he was a part of the champion team RCB, but RCB released him. Chennai Super Kings will have their eyes on him, because the team is looking for a better finisher. Although MS Dhoni will play in the upcoming edition, the team can also think about the future.

32-year-old Liam Livingston has played a total of 112 matches in IPL, in which he has scored 1051 runs. His strike rate is 158.76. Livingston also has 13 wickets in his name in IPL. So he can also give a spin bowling option to CSK.

Ravi Bishnoi

Ravi Bishnoi, who was a part of Lucknow Super Giants last year, can also be the target of Chennai Super Kings. CSK is looking for a leg spinner. Ravi’s base price is Rs 2 crore.

Ravi Bishnoi, who has been playing IPL since 2020, has played a total of 77 matches for 2 teams (PBKS and LSG), in which he has taken 72 wickets. He is successful in stopping the batsmen even in the death overs, in such a situation CSK would like to buy him.

mate henry

Chennai Super Kings can also bet on New Zealand bowler Matt Henry. The base price of Henry is also Rs 2 crore. 33-year-old Henry has played for Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants, although his IPL career has not been very good but he has been bowling well for some time now.

CSK spent Rs 81.6 crore on 16 players

Chennai Super Kings have retained a total of 16 players before the IPL 2026 auction, which also includes Sanju Samson, who came through trade. He has spent Rs 81.6 crore from his purse on all the players together. Now CSK has a purse balance of Rs 43.4 crore.

chennai super kings retention list

Indian: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), MS Dhoni, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapaneet Singh, Mukesh Chaudhary, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Shivam Dubey, Shreyas Gopal, Syed Khalil Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Sanju Samson (trade).

Foreigner: Jamie Overton, Nathan Ellis, Noor Ahmed, Dewald Brewis.

Chennai Super Kings, captained by Ruturaj Gaikwad, had a bad season in the last edition, when he was out due to injury, MS Dhoni took command. But the situation did not change, in the end the team had to be out of the league stage. What was worse was that CSK was at the bottom of the points table. Now the franchise has a chance to prepare its team afresh, for this the team can release many big players before the auction.

There was a mega auction for the last edition, before that the team had retained 5 players. However, now there is a mini auction, so the team will retain more players than that. Last season, the team had included R Ashwin in its team for Rs 9.75 crore, who has now taken retirement. In such a situation, the team is also looking for his replacement.

Chennai Super Kings had won only 4 out of 14 matches played in the league stage, while lost 10 matches. CSK’s net run rate was -0.647. The team was at the bottom 10th position in the points table.

CSK is looking for replacement of Ashwin

There are reports that CSK is looking at Washington Sundar, who is part of Gujarat Titans, as a replacement for Ashwin. It will be interesting to see whether Gujarat retains Sundar or not, if not then CSK can bet on him in the auction.

CSK wants Sanju Samson in place of Ravindra Jadeja

Before IPL retention and auction, the name of Ravindra Jadeja is being discussed the most. According to the news, talks are going on between CSK and Rajasthan Royals. CSK wants Sanju Samson in its team through trade deal.

Which players can CSK release?

Chennai Super Kings can release 2 New Zealand batsmen Rachin Ravindra and Conway. Ashwin has retired, CSK can also release Deepak Hooda and Rahul Tripathi. Many franchises contacted him regarding Nathan Ellis, but the team did not want to give him a team. This means that the team will retain Ellis, he also had a great performance in the T20 series against India. He had dismissed Abhishek 3 times. MS Dhoni has also told CSK management that he will play in the next edition.

How much money is in CSK’s purse?

Chennai Super Kings currently have Rs 5 lakh in their purse. However, R Ashwin, who was priced at Rs 9.75 crore, has retired from all forms of cricket. Their value will also be added to this. How much purse CSK will have in the auction will be known on November 15. But if CSK releases big players like Conway, Rachin, then their purse can be around Rs 30 crore.

CSK players and their price

• Ruturaj Gaikwad- 18 crores
• Ravindra Jadeja- 18 crores
• Mathisha Pathirana – Rs 13 crore
• Shivam Dubey- 12 crores
• MS Dhoni- 4 crores
• Devon Conway- 6.25 crores
• Rahul Tripathi- 3.40 crores
• Shaikh Rashid- 30 lakhs
• Deepak Hooda- 1.70 crores
• Andre Siddharth – 30 lakhs
• Vansh Bedi- 55 lakhs
• Rachin Ravindra- 4 crores
• Vijay Shankar- 1.20 crores
• Sam Curran- 2.40 crores
• Anshul Kamboj – 3.40 crores
• Jamie Overton- 1.50 crores
• Ramakrishna Ghosh- 30 lakhs
• R Ashwin- 9.75 crores (retired)
• Noor Ahmed- 10 crores
• Shreyas Gopal- 30 lakhs
• Khalil Ahmed- 4.80 crores
• Mukesh Chaudhary- 30 lakhs
• Gurjapneet Singh- 2.20 crores
• Nathan Ellis- 2 crores
• Kamlesh Nagarkoti- 30 lakhs

When will IPL 2026 auction take place?

The mini auction for the 19th edition of IPL is likely to take place on December 15. This could be for a day.