IPL 2025: 3 Expensive CSK players who gave low returns

The golden armchair this year became quite creaky for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2025. Even after splurging big money in the mega auction, some marquee signings just did not work. CSK's policy of supporting experience backfired this season as age and form came together. While every auction has its set of gambles, these three IPL 2025 signings remind us that even the biggest players have to convert price tags into match-winning performance. Three of the biggest pay packets that, regrettably, didn't provide the bang-for-buck CSK had expected are featured below. 

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1. Ravichandran Ashwin (₹9.75 crore)

At some point, Ashwin's guile and crafty spin made M.A. Chidambaram Stadium was spin-friendly, but 2025 was an entirely different affair. CSK spent ₹9.75 crore on the veteran off-spinner, only to have him pick up a paltry seven wickets in nine matches, besides contributing just 33 runs with the bat. For a player who had guided Chennai through numerous close games in the past, such an economy of 9.29 and such modest yields felt agonisingly disappointing.

2. Rahul Tripathi (₹3.4 crore)

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Hyped as a pacey top-order option, Tripathi came in to bring in the aggression at the top. Billed at a purse-stretching ₹3.4 crore, he played five games and scored just 55 runs at 11 before being shown the door. His inability to rotate strike or take CSK off to flying beginnings left the middle order drenched more often than not, making what was supposed to be a powerplay spark a damp squib.

3. Rachin Ravindra (₹4 crore)

Rachin's silky topcoat impressed other leagues with much promise, but in IPL 2025, he never quite settled. CSK splurged to get him for ₹4 crore, but beyond a fifty in the season opener, the left-handed batsman mustered only 191 runs in eight innings, a strike rate struggling at 128. In a game where momentum is everything, such slow starts tend to lead to implosions.

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