After Chennai Super Kings’ poor start to the season, the former CSK player, S Badrinath, slammed the management for picking Prashant Veer and Karthik Sharma for a sum total of INR 24.4 Crore. The duo exhibited
some fine performances in the domestic circuit and the franchise felt that there was a need to bring in some young spinners and quality middle-order batters to cope with the exit of Ravindra Jadeja. However, Badrinath felt that the duo was overpriced as they didn’t exhibit the kind of talent that matches their price tag and that the Chennai management had faltered in the IPL 2026 auction itself.
S Badrinath said, "I don't know who gave CSK the suggestion to pick these two (Veer & Kartik). I will be surprised if they score runs. Even if they do, it'll be only through a fluke. I don't trust these two playing proper shots and scoring runs. I think they are tremendously… pic.twitter.com/RNsl66g0h2
— CricketGully (@thecricketgully) April 7, 2026
The 2026 IPL auction was a mini-auction and the number of quality players on the list was comparatively fewer as teams could retain most of their players. The Chennai Super Kings went into the auction with a huge purse of INR 43.40 Crore. They had finished at the bottom of the table in the last season, and they were up for a rebuild, but their picks in the auction for the given price tag were questionable.
"I don't know who gave CSK the suggestion to pick these two (Veer & Kartik). I will be surprised if they score runs. Even if they do, it'll be only through a fluke. I don't trust these two playing proper shots and scoring runs. I think they are tremendously overpriced," said S Badrinath on Cric it with Badri Youtube.
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Criticism debated as CSK backs youth transition amid pressure on young recruits
Despite the criticism of the veteran, it has to be understood that the Chennai Super Kings are undergoing a phase of transition. The core of the club has undergone a lot of changes, especially with the departure of Ravindra Jadeja and the retirement of MS Dhoni on the cards. CSK were so reliant on Dhoni that they didn’t even consider an Indian wicket-keeper batter to replace him until the arrival of Sanju Samson.
So, the management probably took a gamble at the auction to buy two uncapped players for a record price tag. The duo of Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer hasn’t performed up to the mark, maybe because the price tag is weighing a bit too heavily on them. It will only be a matter of time until they can get going, and CSK will be hopeful that they can prove the critics wrong with some match-winning performances.
However, the criticism of S Badrinath felt more like an emotional outburst of a fan rather than a statement of constructive criticism. He stated that even if they score runs, it would be by “fluke” and that they cannot play proper shots and score runs. In the UPT20 league, Prashant Veer scored 320 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 155, and he picked up 8 wickets as well. Kartik Sharma was the highest six-hitter in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy with 26 sixes in 9 matches,and he scored a century on his Ranji Trophy debut against Uttarakhand.
It is indeed true that the IPL is an even bigger stage but such youngsters should be given time to adapt to the environment. If S Badrinath feels that these players lack the technical ability to score runs, it would clearly be seen as undermining the quality of cricket that is played at the domestic level in India.
The CSK management will have to back their players and captain if they are aiming for a brighter future, rather than going with the same set of plans every time. They will have to groom these younger players into players who can thrive at the international stage. The Chennai Super Kings will be confident that it will be only a matter of time until they start performing.
