Sikandar Raza would have been an ideal fit at CSK.
Sikandar Raza has been in the form of his life. He has set the T20 World Cup 2026 stage on fire with his all-round exploits. The Zimbabwe captain has been the biggest reason for his team’s immense success in the tournament, and he would have been a good pick for CSK.
However, Raza won’t be part of IPL 2026 and has not featured in the competition since the 2025 edition. He didn’t even register for the IPL 2026 auction, possibly after going unsold in the last auction. Instead, he preferred PSL, where the all-rounder will represent Lahore Qalandars again.
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CSK needed a spin-bowling all-rounder like Sikandar Raza for IPL 2026. Ravichandran Ashwin retired from the league after a poor season, while Ravindra Jadeja was traded to Rajasthan Royals (RR) to get Sanju Samson. Hence, they were left without any solid spin-bowling all-rounder.
During the auction, CSK opted for Akeal Hosein and Matthew Short in this category. That’s where they missed the trick by not asking Sikandar Raza to register himself for the auction. He fitted perfectly in their setup, especially after his recent improvements.
Mumbai Indians (MI) made a similar request to Quinton de Kock, who initially didn’t give his name for the IPL 2026 auction. CSK could have done the same and bought Raza at his base price since no other team was interested. CSK had the second-highest budget for the IPL 2026 auction and could have got Raza even if he had put his base price at the maximum INR 2 crore.
This amount was still significantly higher than his current PSL contract of PKR 2.80 crore. Anyway, CSK settled for Short at a similar amount. That would have been a win-win deal for both parties.
Firstly, Sikandar Raza does precisely what CSK needed once Ashwin and Jadeja were no longer associated with the franchise. He batted in the middle and lower middle-order and brought solid skills against both pace and spin. Raza can be flexible with his batting position and has batted almost everywhere recently.
Raza has batted in every batting position from No.3 to 7 since 2025. CSK would want someone of this profile in IPL 2026 because their top five are settled, but the lower order remains vulnerable. MS Dhoni is ageing, while the likes of Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma are inexperienced at this level, so some experience and exposure to this role would have been handy.
As a bowler, he has a range of variations from carrom ball to traditional off-breaks, which he has used brilliantly. Raza is not just a matchup bowler who can control LHBs; he has been equally good against RHBs. Since 2025, he has 36 wickets at an average of 24.80 and an economy rate of 7.43 against right-hand batters.
Meanwhile, Matthew Short is quite limited outside the opening spot, and his bowling is not as good as Raza’s. Since 2025, the Australian all-rounder has batted only 20% of the time as a non-opener in T20s, averaging and striking at just 22.75 and 128.16, respectively. As an opener, he has 825 runs at an average of 34.37 and a strike rate of 153.06 in 24 outings, including eight fifties and a century.
Unfortunately, CSK already have several options and backups in the top order. Sanju Samson’s inclusion only makes it more cramped. So, Short might have to do an uncharacteristic role against the best bowling attacks, and he might be a misfit.
As a bowler, his effectiveness remains quite low against RHBs, and at best, serves as a matchup bowler against LHBs. On flat surfaces, the lack of variations might make him highly vulnerable with the ball. Hence, Sikandar Raza remains ahead in every aspect, someone who would have been an ideal fit at CSK.
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