Chennai Super Kings have been one of the successful franchises in the history of the Indian Premier League. CSK joined the IPL in 2008, and in the last 14 years, they have won the trophy in four seasons. Apart from winning the Indian Premier League, the Super Kings have also won the Champions League T20 tournament twice.
CSK have always believed in backing their players in the IPL. MS Dhoni has been the captain of the team since the inaugural season. Players like Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Albie Morkel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Doug Bollinger, Matthew Hayden, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin and several others have shone under the captaincy of MS Dhoni while donning the Super Kings jersey.
But in the last 14 years, there have been four popular batters and all-rounders who got an opportunity to bat only once for the Chennai Super Kings team. Here is a list of those five players.
1. Arun Karthik – Played 1 innings for CSK in IPL 2010
Tamil Nadu-based wicket-keeper batter Konda Bhaskar Arun Karthik made his Indian Premier League debut for the Chennai Super Kings in the 2010 edition. Karthik received his maiden cap ahead of a match against the Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad. RR batted first in that match and scored 177/8 in their 20 overs.
Chasing 178 to win, CSK got off to a good start with Murali Vijay scoring a 28-ball 42. However, once he got run out, the Super Kings lost momentum. Debutant Arun Karthik came out to bat in the final overs, but he scored only three runs off five balls. RR won by 17 runs. Karthik never played for CSK again.
2. Chandrasekar Ganapathy – Played 1 innings for CSK in IPL 2010
Arun Karthik lost his place in the CSK playing XI. Chandrasekar Ganapathy replaced him in the team for the next match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chepauk.
The visitors batted first and posted a 161-run score on the board. A brilliant 39-ball 78 from Murali Vijay placed CSK in the driver’s seat. Debutant Ganapathy came out to bat in the final moments, but CSK chased the target before he could face a single ball. Like Karthik, he never played for CSK again.
3. Abhinav Mukund
Abhinav Mukund is the third player born in Tamil Nadu to feature on this list. The left-handed batter made his IPL debut for CSK in the inaugural season against the Rajasthan Royals at Chepauk.
RR set a 212-run target for the home side. Mukund, who generally plays as an opener, got a chance to bat at number eight in that game, but he got out for a golden duck. RR won by 10 runs in that match. Mukund played one more match for Chennai but did not get to bat.
4. Scott Styris
Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris is the only foreign player on the list. Styris made his IPL debut for CSK in 2011. He played for the Deccan Chargers before that.
Styris got to play at number six in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders. He came to know in the final phases and faced only two balls, where he scored five runs. Styris did not get a chance to bat in the next match against Punjab Kings. It proved to be his last game in IPL.
