Ravichandran Ashwin urges CSK to target either Nitish Rana or Venkatesh Iyer in IPL 2026 auction

Former CSK all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin reckons Chennai Super Kings can try to acquire the services of either Nitish Rana or Venkatesh Iyer in the IPL 2026 auction. With CSK all set to trade all-rounder duo of Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja to Rajasthan Royals for Sanju Samson, Ashwin said the Kerala batter can open the innings with Ayush Mhatre.

Meanwhile, Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer didn’t have a great run in IPL 2025. Iyer could only manage 142 runs in seven innings of IPL 2025 at an average of 20.29 and thus failed to justify his huge price tag of INR 23.75 crore for Kolkata Knight Riders.

On the other hand, Rana scored 217 runs in 11 matches at an average of 21.70 and a strike rate of 161.96 for the Rajasthan Royals. However, the left-hander was in prolific form in the Delhi Premier League as he scored 393 runs in 11 matches at an average of 65.50 and a blistering strike rate of 181.94, and thus played an instrumental role in taking West Delhi Lions to glory.

Ashwin said these left-handers can target the square boundaries while playing at the Chepauk.

Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “CSK can really strengthen this side. The moment Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja have gone there, I see Nitish Rana coming into the auction. So Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer will 100% be on the radar of CSK. If Samson and Ruturaj open, it’ll be the best thing to happen. At 3, they’ll look at Venkatesh Iyer or Nitish Rana. Brevis and Dube will be at 4 and 5 and then they’ll try to insert Cameron Green at 6 because recently he has batted in the middle order for Australia.”

“Yes, Ayush Mhatre is a proven commodity. But the Chennai wicket has suddenly started slowing down and holding, especially while batting second. If there is one facet of the game lacking in the CSK batting, it’s their ability to access square of the wicket. Mhatre, Dhoni, Jadeja and Dube don’t have the sweep or the reverse sweep to access the square boundaries. Even Ruturaj doesn’t prefer the sweep or reverse sweep, though he can play it. So playing the flat sweep is definitely needed.”

“Venkatesh Iyer has played one or two good innings in Chepauk. However, he is a replica of Shivam Dube with long levers down the ground. But he can play the sweep and reverse sweep. Nevertheless, someone like Nitish Rana, who is shorter, can access the square boundaries and use the bounce, and is an attractive option. There is a great chance he will come to CSK.”

The IPL franchises will release the list of their retained players before November 15, which is the deadline date.