"He could become their sixth bowler who bats at five" - Mohammad Kaif's huge suggestion to CSK ahead of IPL 2026 Auction

Former batter Mohammad Kaif made some huge suggestions as to who the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) should target at the IPL 2026 auction. They let go of 12 players and retained 16, accumulating a purse of ₹43.40 crore ahead of the auction.

Kaif reckoned that CSK could look at England all-rounder Liam Livingstone, who can bowl some off-spin and be their hard-hitting batter at number five. Livingstone was released by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He added that Chennai could also go after Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who could play a similar role as Livingstone. Kaif reflected that Maxwell's off-spin could be of more value at Chepauk, where spinners find assistance off the surface.

He highlighted how the five-time champions have always valued all-rounders over the years, like Dwayne Bravo and Albie Morkel. As they have traded out Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for Sanju Samson, they would require all-rounders to fill those gaps.

"Livingstone will also suit Chennai. He could become their sixth bowler who bats at five. Dhoni does not come up the order now, so they need batters. CSK have a history of batting deep and looking at all-rounders. Overton played because he can bat, same with Curran. Bravo played so many years as he was an all-rounder, Albie Morkel as well. So they will go behind the likes of Livingstone and Maxwell. Maxwell's value may have gone down but I feel he will do well if he goes there. He can bowl off-spin with the new ball. He has done it for RCB too. At a ground like Chennai, his bowling will have more value," he said on his YouTube channel.

As CSK have released Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, and Vijay Shankar, Kaif reckoned that they would also need batters in the middle. He believed they also required a bowling all-rounder and could thus go after Andre Russell, who was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

"I feel CSK could go after David Miller. There is Abhinav Manohar as well for the number five/six slot. They had the likes of Rahul Tripathi and Vijay Shankar who did not do well. So they will look at guys who can fill in here. They already have some fixed players. Samson and Mhatre will open, Gaikwad at three, Brevis at four, Dube at five, Russell at six if they can get him or Maxwell. Dhoni is there too so they have batters. They will need a spinner, a bowling all-rounder and might also look at a good opener if possible," he reflected.

Chennai finished at the bottom of the table last year. Therefore, they will aim to build a strong side this time around to bounce back.

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CSK will target Andre Russell and Cameron Green more than looking to get Matheesha Pathirana back, feels Kaif

CSK also released Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who struggled with his accuracy last season. Mohammad Kaif reckoned that they would target all-rounders like Andre Russell, Glenn Maxwell, and Cameron Green as a priority.

He expressed that they would only explore the possibility of bringing Pathirana back at a lower price if they failed to get any of the aforementioned all-rounders at the auction.

"If they have money left and do not get Russell or Maxwell, then they might look to get Pathirana back. The point of leaving players is to have the purse in the auction to fight for some specific players. That is why they released him. They will not put a lot of money on him, maybe they can get him later if they don't get anyone. Green is also needed there so he could be an option too, they can run behind him. They will value the likes of Green and Russell more over Pathirana," he said.

Pathirana was retained for ₹13 crore for IPL 2025. However, he managed to pick up just 13 wickets from 12 games at an average of 32.61 and an economy of 10.13.