IPL 2026 is knocking on the door. After a disappointing campaign in 2025, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been putting in their efforts for months to reshape their team. In a major move, they secured the service of Sanju Samson in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran in the swap deal with the Rajasthan Royals.

The team management and the fans of CSK will have high expectations from the star keeper-batter. But cricket is not only about an individual show, but it also depicts team games. To regain the golden days, along with Sanju, other CSK players also need to step up on big occasions. Who will be the players who can produce stand-out performances other than Sanju Samson? Let’s find out. As the Chennai Super Kings management has tried to create a balanced team with both experienced and emerging talents, the article will also follow the same, maintaining a proper balance.

3 Players other than Sanju Samson who can power CSK to another IPL title:

3. Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz Khan was in havoc form during the previous domestic season. The batter who played Test matches for India and was known for strong defense and technical abilities, took everyone by surprise when he started to score runs at a rapid pace for Mumbai. Khan’s transformation was not only surprising but also impactful. If it carries the same form in the IPL 2026 season, then CSK will have an advantage over the opposing bowlers.

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Sarfaraz Khan’s recent performances in domestic tournaments:

2. Ayush Mhatre

The young gun can act like a trump card for the team in the upcoming Indian Premier League season. The top order batter, whose leadership skills helped India U-19 to claim the ICC U-19 World Cup, is capable of scoring a significant amount of runs at a quick pace. Last year, when he joined the team mid-day, as the replacement of injured Ruturaj Gaikwad, the 18-year-old did not take long to prove his batting antics. In his debut IPL season, the top-order batter scored 240 runs in 7 matches with a strike rate of 188.97 and a 34.28 batting average.

1. Shivam Dube

The seam bowling allrounder was the silent hero behind Team India’s T20 World Cup 2026 triumph. He has been associated with CSK for more than 4 years and knows the atmosphere of the team very well. Under any conditions, Dube can prove to be a game-changer. In the previous season with the Super Kings, he scored 357 runs in 14 matches and maintained a strike rate of 132.22. Though his bowler persona remained unused in the season. The management can trust him more in his bowling, as he picked up wickets in crucial T20 WC 2026 matches.

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Varun Chakravarthy attends a training session ahead of their T20 World Cup cricket semi final match against England in Mumbai, Wednesday, March 4, 2026.(AP Photo)

Varun Chakravarthy’s contrasting performances across formats recently, from dominating the IPL to facing challenges during the T20 World Cup despite finishing as the joint-highest wicket-taker, underline a deeper truth about spin bowling in T20 cricket – mystery alone isn’t enough.For former India leg-spinner Amit Mishra, the issue wasn’t about Chakravarthy being “decoded” but about execution under pressure.“In the T20 World Cup, Varun was using his skills a bit incorrectly,” Mishra told TimesofIndia.com. “He started bowling a bit too fast, leaving his strengths. In the IPL (last year), he used to bowl one slow ball, one top-spin, one googly, and one leg-spin. He wasn’t doing that under pressure (in T20 World Cup) when runs were being scored.”Mishra pointed to a shift in approach rather than a dip in ability. “You need someone to tell you, to explain. Everyone knows execution is important, that’s why I say stick to your strengths.”

The rise of mystery spinners in T20s

From Sunil Narine and Ajantha Mendis to Abrar Ahmed and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, mystery spinners have become central to T20 cricket’s evolution.Since the format’s introduction, such bowlers have had an unprecedented impact. The addition of the Decision Review System (DRS) has further aided their success, giving umpires more confidence on marginal calls.Yet, traditional spinners – those who rely on spin, dip, and a dependable stock ball – continue to remain relevant.Mishra believes that despite the growing obsession with variations, the fundamentals of spin bowling remain unchanged.“Simple bowling in T20 means that when you already have some help from the pitch, you shouldn’t try too hard for wickets,” he said.“If the pitch is helping, simple bowling means sticking to your good areas, sticking to your strengths. If it’s going well, keep bowling at that pace until it’s necessary to change. When the batsman is struggling, you don’t need to change much.”For a bowler who claimed three IPL hat-tricks, Mishra’s definition of ‘simple’ stands in contrast to the modern demand for constant deception.

T20 cricket: batters game?

Having witnessed T20 cricket and the IPL from its early years, Mishra sees a clear transformation in batting.“Indian players now have a variety of shots like the reverse sweep, paddle sweep, and switch hit, which we earlier saw mostly from foreign players. Now, Indian players have these shots too. It’s become more difficult for bowlers,” he said.The shift, he believes, is as much mental as technical.“Power encompasses everything. If you put pressure on the bowler in the first 12 balls, it puts them on the backfoot. That’s a mindset change.”This evolution has tilted the balance further towards batters, with totals of 190 or 200 and now even 250 becoming routine in the IPL.Even so, Mishra insists that spinners should not abandon their natural strengths.“I’ve always said I stuck to my strengths and made variations. My strength was spin and dip, that’s what I did. You have to know your bowling strength. A spinner’s job is to spin the ball. You should know how to spin it.”

Do match-ups really matter?

On the growing reliance on data-driven match-ups, Mishra pushed back against rigid templates.“I never believed a left-arm orthodox spinner can’t bowl to a left-hander or an off-spinner can’t bowl to a right-hander. If you have the skills, you can do it. If you lack skills, then you need to enhance them.”For him, adaptability outweighs preset strategies.“You have to develop understanding, develop your skills, and variations.”He pointed to Rashid Khan as an example of consistency in approach. “Like Rashid Khan, he stays around 100, that’s his strength. He doesn’t leave it.”Looking ahead to young spinners in the IPL, Mishra avoided naming individuals but warned of the challenge that follows a breakthrough season.“When you are new, people haven’t seen much of you, so you have more chances to perform. But now, I want to see what changes they have made in their bowling this year, what mindset they have brought, what they have enhanced,” he concluded.

NEW DELHI: T20 World champions India national cricket team are set to tour Ireland in June for a T20I series, which will act as preparation before their white-ball tour of England in July. The series was confirmed while announcing Paul Stirling stepping down as Ireland’s T20I captain, marking the start of a transition phase for the hosts.Ireland see this India series as an important step in building towards the T20 World Cup 2028.

According to Ireland’s director of high performance, Graham West, the captaincy change gives a new leader the chance to shape the team early. He said, “With qualification secured for the T20 World Cup in 2028, Paul’s (Stirling) decision to stand down as T20 captain provides the opportunity for the new captain to begin implementing their style and methodology, starting with the India series in June.”India, who also face Afghanistan national cricket team before heading to England, have regularly toured Ireland in recent years, drawing strong crowds near Dublin.

Stirling’s decision and future focus

Stirling, 35, stepped down after a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign where Ireland struggled, though he will continue as ODI captain. Reflecting on his time, he said, “It has been a tremendous honour to lead Ireland in this format and something I have been incredibly proud to do. Captaining your country is a privilege that carries great responsibility, and I’m very grateful for the trust and support I have received during my time in the role.”He also made it clear he isn’t stepping back as a player, adding, “I still have a huge amount of ambition as a player and feel this decision will allow me to fully focus on being the best version of myself and making the strongest possible contribution on the field.”