table of contents
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) once again failed to reach the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs and were eliminated this season, but former India batsman Subramaniam Badrinath feels that some players still have great performances in the tournament.
The five-time champions managed to win only 6 out of 14 matches in the ongoing IPL 2026, but some unexpected names emerged and surprised everyone with their performances. Badrinath seemed particularly impressed with the way Jamie Overton performed for the franchise.
Subramaniam Badrinath highlights major positives despite CSK’s IPL 2026 disaster
English all-rounder Jamie Overton became one of the most important players for Chennai Super Kings this season. Before the tournament started, not many expected Overton to make such a big impact, but he has been consistent with the ball when CSK needed a breakthrough.
Also Read: Wasim Jaffer questions Virat Kohli’s post-match behavior towards Travis Head during SRH vs RCB clash
Overton had a remarkable season for CSK in IPL 2026, where he scored 136 runs at a strike rate of almost 160 and took 14 wickets at an impressive economy rate of less than 9 in 10 matches, establishing himself as a premium all-rounder before his campaign ended early due to a thigh injury.
Akil Hossein was underutilized but achieved a lot: S Badrinath
Badrinath also praised Akeal Hosein and young fast bowler Anshul Kamboj for performing beyond expectations during CSK’s difficult season. While Akeel took 9 wickets in 7 matches for Chennai at an impressive economy rate of 8.16, Kamboj had a breakout season and became CSK’s leading wicket-taker in IPL 2026 with 14 wickets in 14 matches.
Subramaniam Badrinath said on his YouTube channel: “Jamie Overton achieved a lot this season. Similarly, Akeal Hosein was under-utilised, but achieved a lot. Even Anshul Kamboj, for the most part, achieved a lot. No one would have predicted that he would be in the Purple Cap leaderboard anytime in the season.”
Badrinath impressed with Chennai Super Kings’ Samson, Mhatre and Patel
Talking about the batting department, Badrinath feels that Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre and Urvil Patel were impressive for CSK this season. Samson led the batting unit for most of the season and finished as the team’s top scorer with 477 runs.
Also Read: RR coach says Jofra Archer unfazed by criticism for skipping England Test matches to play IPL 2026.
The former Chennai Super Kings batsman also praised young Mhatre for his fearless batting style as well as Urvil Patel’s aggressive hitting and game-changing ability. Ayush scored 201 runs at an explosive strike rate of 177.88 in 6 matches for Chennai Super Kings before the season was cut short due to injury.
‘Urvil Patel proves he is an X-factor’
Even though Urvil looks careless at times, Badrinath believes the youngster has that rare X-factor to win matches on his own. He scored 129 runs in 7 matches for the franchise in the ongoing IPL at a blazing strike rate of over 200.
The cricket pundit said, “Samson and Mhatre were positive with the bat. Urvil Patel proved he is an
Dewald Brewis calls it the biggest disappointment of IPL 2026 for CSK
Badrinath has also expressed disappointment over Dewald Brevis’ poor season. The South African batsman came in with huge expectations but struggled badly for consistency and managed only 151 runs in eight innings this season.
He signed off by saying, “Dewald Brevis has been very disappointing this season. CSK relied a lot on him. But the question is, although he was in poor form, did he play in the right conditions? The lack of clarity on MS Dhoni was another negative.”