R Ashwin Retired; Spinners CSK Should Target To Replace Him Before IPL 2026

Players who could replace Ashwin [Source: @IPLT20.COM]

On Wednesday, veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin announced his shocking retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL). He revealed the decision via a social media post, and for the first time since the 2009 edition, the league won’t witness the skilful Ashwin performing at his best. The decision came in the wake of CSK possibly releasing him ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction.

The last couple of IPL seasons were underwhelming for the champion spinner, but now CSK have a tough task of replacing him with another quality spinner. R Ashwin was a master of taking wickets in the IPL, and the Yellow Army now needs a wicket-taker to replace him.

Here are 3 spinner who could potentially replace Ashwin in the CSK squad for next season.

The likely choices to replace Ashwin

1) Maheesh Theekshana

CSK is one of those IPL teams that rarely go for big names, and they believe in creating stars, rather than buying them. One such star they made was Maheesh Theekshana from Sri Lanka. The spinner joined them in 2022 and was instrumental in their title-winning campaign in 2023. However, ahead of the 2025 season, he was released, and Rajasthan Royals splashed 4.40 crore to buy him.

It is fair to say that his stint so far with the Royals has been underwhelming as the Sawai Mansingh surface has hardly assisted him, and the spinner only took 11 wickets, with an economy of 9.76, his worst season in terms of economy. Why CSK could go after him, here are the possible reasons.

Like-to-like Ashwin replacement: Theekshana has similar traits as Ashwin, and is known for containing runs in tricky situations. This was Ashwin's role in RR, and CSK. Hence, if the franchise wants a similar replacement, Theekshana is the guy for them.

The numbers favour him: For CSK, Theekshana has had stellar numbers, and the franchise should take a punt on him.

(Theekshana for CSK)

• An economy of just 7.87, and 25 wickets to his name with a couple of key performances, Theekshana knows the CSK setup and could be a front-runner to replace Ashwin.

2) Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Afghanistan spinner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, joined the Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2025 season as an injury replacement player for his fellow countryman, Allah Ghazanfar. The team banked on his variations to deliver the goods in IPL 2025, but for some reason, he only played a solitary game and picked up just 1 wickets with an economy of 14.

He has been exceptional for the Afghanistan national team, but he is yet to deliver the goods in the IPL. This is where CSK and MS Dhoni come into play. MSD is known for giving a friendly environment to its players to thrive, and Noor Ahmad, the Afghanistan spinner, is the best example of it.

In the 2025 season for CSK, Noor scalped 24 wickets in 14 matches and was CSK’s lone warrior in the bowling department. Mujeeb might also thrive in the same environment, and the Chepauk wicket, known for helping the spinners, could work in his and the franchise’s favour.

The out of the box signing

Ravi Bishnoi

When the Lucknow Super Giants was formed in 2022, Ravi Bishnoi was one of their main pillars in the bowling department, but that changed with the arrival of Digvesh Rathi in the 2025 season.

In the last couple of seasons, Bishnoi’s output has gone down in the IPL, picking only 19 wickets in the last two seasons. However, despite two failed seasons, the spinner has been one of the best in the league, and CSK could be tempted to go after him due to the fact that he is a genuine wicket-taker.

(Bishnoi stats in IPL)

• 72 wickets in 77 matches, and CSK could do wonders with a quality leg-spinner in their squad. He is one of those rare spinners who has excelled in both powerplay, and in the middle phase, and the wickets at Chepauk would assist his bowling.

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