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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) once again failed to reach the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs, having been eliminated from this season, but former India batter Subramaniam Badrinath feels a few players still delivered stunning 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 stepped up and surprised everyone with their performances. Badrinath especially looked impressed with the way Jamie Overton performed for the franchise.
Subramaniam Badrinath highlights big positives despite CSK’s IPL 2026 disaster
The English all-rounder Jamie Overton became one of the Chennai Super Kings’ most important players this season. Before the tournament started, not many people expected Overton to make such a big impact, but he ended up delivering consistently with the ball when CSK needed breakthroughs.
Overton had a remarkable season for CSK in IPL 2026, where he scored 136 runs at a strike rate of nearly 160 and snapped up 14 wickets at an impressive economy rate of under 9 in 10 matches and established himself as a premium all-rounder before a thigh injury ended his campaign early.
Akeal Hosein was underutilized but overachieved: S Badrinath
Badrinath also praised Akeal Hosein and young fast bowler Anshul Kamboj for delivering above expectations during CSK’s tough season. While Akeal managed 9 wickets in 7 matches for Chennai at a stunning economy rate of 8.16, Kamboj had a breakout season and finished as CSK’s highest wicket taker with 14 scalps from 14 games in the IPL 2026.
Subramaniam Badrinath said on his YouTube channel: “Jamie Overton overachieved this season. Similarly, Akeal Hosein was underutilized but overachieved. Even Anshul Kamboj overachieved for the most part. No one would have predicted that he would be in the Purple Cap leaderboard anytime in the season.”
Badrinath impressed by Chennai Super Kings' Samson, Mhatre and Patel
Speaking about the batting department, Badrinath felt Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre, and Urvil Patel were impressive for CSK this season. Samson carried the batting unit for most of the season and finished as the team’s top scorer with 477 runs.
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The former Chennai Super Kings batter also hailed the youngster Mhatre for his fearless batting style as well as Urvil Patel for his aggressive hitting and game-changing ability. Ayush scored 201 runs in 6 matches for the Chennai Super Kings at a blistering strike rate of 177.88 before injury cut short his season.
'Urvil Patel proved he is an X-factor'
Even though Urvil looked reckless at times, Badrinath believes the youngster has that rare X-factor that can win matches on his own. He scored 129 runs in 7 matches at a blazing strike rate of over 200 for the franchise in the ongoing IPL.
The cricket pundit added, “Samson and Mhatre were the positives with the bat. Urvil Patel proved he is an X-factor and worthy of his price. Though he seems to slog blindly, he gives the belief that he'll win you a match somewhere.”
Dewald Brevis called CSK’s biggest disappointment of IPL 2026
Badrinath has also expressed his disappointment over Dewald Brevis’s poor season. The South African batter arrived with huge expectations but struggled badly for consistency and could score only 151 runs in eight innings this season.
He signed off by saying, “Dewald Brevis was a massive letdown this season. CSK trusted him a lot. But the question is, though he was in bad form, was he played at the correct position? The lack of clarity over MS Dhoni was another negative.”
