IPL: 5 Players whose first game turned out to be their last one for the Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are arguably the most successful franchise in the history of T20 league cricket. The team, which has lifted the Indian Premier League (IPL) silverware for three times and has won the Champions League T20 twice, is best known for its consistency and dominance, every time it takes the field. Under MS Dhoni’s leadership, the yellow army has been able to build a scintillating team culture and a huge fanbase.

One aspect, which makes the Super Kings different from others, is the faith they show on the players. The fact that the team management backs players, even during tough times, is one of the main reasons behind its success. Howbeit, there have been some rare instances when some players, couldn’t get a long rope whilst playing for CSK.

Here we bring you five players who played just one game for CSK

Arun Karthik

Arun Karthik has been a household name in the domestic circuits of Tamil Nadu cricket. The guy, who had kicked off his cricketing career, by playing in domestic leagues of Sri Lanka in 2007, is currently playing for Kerala. The 33-year old’s cricket career has been a roller-coaster ride. Six years after he made his debut for Tamil Nadu, Karthik moved to Assam and became an integral part of the team. Three years later, he again changed his team and is eventually playing for Kerala, at the moment.

Back in 2008, Karthik had suddenly risen to limelight after he played a magnificent knock of 149 runs for Tamil Nadu on his first-class debut. This soon earned him an IPL contract with the Chennai Super Kings. Howbeit, he couldn’t make it big as he got to play only one game against the Rajasthan Royals. He was able to score only 3 runs. The Tamil Nadu-born was released in the next season.

He further went on to play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and his last ball six against the South Australian Redbacks, during the Champions League T20 2011, has been one of the highlights of his career.

Vijay Shankar

The prolific all-rounder Vijay Shankar is yet another name who was released by the Chennai Super Kings after just one game. Back in 2014, he was bought by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2014. However, the 28-year old could get a chance in only one of the games that season. Shankar failed to score any run in that encounter and conceded 19 runs in the 6 balls he bowled. Later on, the Tamil Nadu-born was released by the team.

After the wait of 3 years, Vijay Shankar was finally picked by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 10. The guy got to play 4 games in that season and scored around 101 runs. He soon became the part of the Delhi Capitals in the next season, wherein, he showed some signs of glory.He was again traded back by the Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League.

Thisara Perera

Thisara Perera has been one the best players of the T20 format. The veteran cricketer is best known for his unpredictability and ability to score runs during crucial stages. However, the 30-year old has miserably failed to achieve success in the Indian Premier League. For the first time in IPL, the all-rounder was bagged by the Chennai Super Kings in 2010. However, a bad outing in his first game of the season resulted in, him getting no more chances further

Perera was released right after the end of the season. From there on, the Sri Lankan cricketer went on to play 29 more matches for 5 other teams of the tourney respectively but has never been able to make a mark in this extravaganza.

John Hastings

John Hastings had kicked off his IPL career in 2011 when the Kochi Tuskers Kerala bought him for US$20,000. However, he didn’t get to play any game in that season and was eventually released by the franchise. 3 years later, the sun rose again for the Aussie cricketer as he was picked by the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2014. The guy also got to play a game in that season. Whilst playing against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Hastings gave away 29 runs in the 3 overs, he bowled. He also picked a wicket in the game.

Although, despite having a good outing, the 33-year old couldn’t play another game in that season. After playing just 1 game, the Aussie was released by the franchise and didn’t get to play in the tourney for the next year. Nonetheless, finally in 2016, he was picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders but the pacer had an average tournament even then and couldn’t get to play any IPL game, any further.

Mark Wood

Mark Wood was picked by the Chennai Super Kings during the IPL auctions ahead of 2018 season. He was bought by the team for a decent amount of Rs 1.5 crores. Howbeit, he failed to prove his mettle whilst donning the yellow jersey in the following season. The English cricketer was picked by the team in the playing XI in the inaugural match of IPL 11. The pace bowler had a horrible outing as he conceded 49 runs in his four-over spell. CSK, albeit, won the game but the guy turned out to be a major upset.

Going further in the tournament, the Super Kings got a balanced pace battery and hence, Wood had to warm the bench after playing just one game. Ultimately, the 29-year old pulled himself out for the rest of the season. He didn’t have much role to play for the team and in the process, the lad was released by the franchise ahead of the ongoing season.

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