The Chennai Super Kings is the second-most successful franchise in the IPL, having won 4 titles, behind only Mumbai Indians who have won the tournament 5 times. But, CSK are hailed as the most consistent team in the tournament’s history, having made it into the playoffs 11 times of the 12 seasons they participated in.
Many of their stalwarts are well-known for their significant contributions to CSK’s success. Some players, though, couldn’t perform well for CSK but did remarkably for other franchises after leaving Chennai.
Here we look at 5 players who flopped for CSK but did well for other teams:
Chris Morris’ first season in the IPL, in 2013, was with the Super Kings. The South African couldn’t turn many heads as he averages just 7 with the bat in 16 matches, and took 15 wickets while being expensive.
In the next six seasons, he played for Delhi, Rajasthan, and RCB winning them games consistently with either bat or ball. In 2020, he was brilliant especially in the death overs for RCB, and in 2021 was one of the RR’s bright spots. Before that, he became Delhi’s designated finisher and finished off games handsomely with the bat and was a regular wicket-taker with the ball.
Wriddhiman Saha
In MS Dhoni’s presence, Wriddhiman Saha never really got going during his three years at CSK from 2011 to 2013; he got chances in 14 matches for CSK across three seasons, in which his strike rate was a poor 108.
However, straight after leaving CSK, he was phenomenal for Punjab in 2014, when he had his best season, including scoring a century in the final as well. He’d also enjoy his time with SRH in the last four seasons.
George Bailey
Former Australian captain George Bailey spent most of his four seasons for CSK on the bench from 2009 to 2012: he got the nod in the eleven in only 4 matches across 4 seasons, scoring a total of 63 runs while striking at less than run-a-ball.
In 2014, though, Bailey turned it around for himself and for his new franchise, Punjab Kings, leading them to their maiden IPL final. With the bat, he averaged 28 and struck at 135. He had a similar season in 2015, before performing poorly once again under Dhoni for Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016.
Parthiv Patel
Former India wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel has been part of many IPL franchises. He started his IPL journey with CSK for the first three seasons. Parthiv didn’t attain much success for CSK, averaging 21 while striking at a lowly 102 across 26 matches.
He, however, changed his numbers in the IPL, playing all 14 matches in 2011 and 2012, and then went on to become a mainstay and a key contributor for Mumbai Indians in their title-winning campaigns in 2015 and 2017. In 40 games for MI, Parthiv averaged 23 while scoring at a strike rate of 131; he also fared well for RCB in his last three IPL seasons.
Ankit Rajpoot
Fast bowler Ankit Rajpoot began his IPL career in 2013 with CSK. However, he couldn’t gain much attention then, picking up just 1 wicket in 2 matches while erring on the economy side.
He was, though, impressive while playing for Punjab in the 2018 season, snaring 11 wickets in 8 games, including registering his best IPL figures of 5/14. With that, Rajpoot improved his stocks going forward.
