Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath slammed the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for investing heavily in two uncapped players, Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma, at the IPL 2026 auction. The five-time champions stunned the cricketing world by signing the duo for a massive ₹14.2 crores each.

However, the signing has started to backfire with both youngsters struggling at the start of the ongoing IPL 2026 season. Kartik has scored only 19 runs in his two innings, while Veer scratched around for a seven-ball on his debut in CSK’s second game against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Talking about the uncapped pair and CSK’s huge investment in them, Badrinath said on his YouTube channel (8:53):

“I don’t know who gave CSK the suggestion to pick these two. 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.”

He added:

“I am sorry to say that both are getting exposed. By giving both over 14 crores, CSK made a massive blunder. It was a huge gamble. If they fired, it would have been celebrated. But if they didn’t fire, it would look like a very, very bad move, and that’s what is happening now. When Arshdeep Singh and Bartlett were bowling, they didn’t seem to have any time. Before Prashant Veer could even lift this bat, the ball was flying past him. The truth is, they’ve never faced this kind of bowling in their lives.”

Following their dismal 2025 season in which they finished at the bottom, CSK look headed down a similar path in IPL 2026 with losses in both their opening two outings.

“Why did you bring Prashant Veer into the lineup?” – S Badrinath

Subramaniam Badrinath blasted CSK for the changes to their playing 11 in the PBKS clash and their overall strategy in the game. Despite top-scoring for the side with 43 in their season opener against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), all-rounder Jamie Overton was excluded from the lineup.

Instead, CSK played spin-bowling all-rounder Prashant Veer against PBKS, only for him not to bowl a single over.

“MS Dhoni is always high on processes. They played two foreigners in this match. You brought in Prashant Veer for Jamie Overton, who did well in the last game. Overton bats and bowls, and you replace him with Prashant and do not give him a single over. What kind of process is this? Why did you bring Prashant Veer into the lineup? Do you think he’s going to score a 20-ball 50 down the order and win you a game? It’s impossible to understand their thinking,” said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).

Badrinath concluded:

“The auction was bad, but that ship has sailed. At least with what you have, get the processes right. You make a player who did well in the last match, Jamie Overton, sit. And then you don’t bowl Prashant Veer. It’s impossible to understand what CSK are doing. You didn’t even name Akeal Hosein in your 15 to even try to bring him in as the Impact Sub.”

CSK find themselves at the bottom of the table again after convincing defeats in their opening two matches.