Everyone thinks that any spinner will do effectively with CSK

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legend AB de Villiers believes ace Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner Noor Ahmad’s form could be a cause of concern ahead of IPL 2026. The 21-year-old starred for the Men in Yellow in an otherwise disappointing 2025 IPL season, picking up 24 wickets at an average of 17 in 14 matches.

However, the left-arm spinner has struggled since, with mediocre performances in the 2025/26 SA20 and the 2026 T20 World Cup. The Afghan spinner picked up only five wickets in eight games in the former and went wicketless in two matches in the latter.

Talking about Noor Ahmad’s concerning form heading into IPL 2026, De Villiers said on his YouTube channel (24:53):

“They don’t have Jadeja and Ashwin from the past. Everyone thinks that any spinner will do well with CSK. But that’s not the case. You need to know what you are doing. Noor has been either out of form or batters are playing him better these days. I don’t know what’s happened, but even in the SA20 last year, no one could get bat on ball against him, but this time, he was quite expensive and cost them one or two games.”

He continued:

“Even in the T20 World Cup, he didn’t fire like I thought he would. So perhaps the batters have figured him out. That might be a worry for them, to get the hang of Chepauk Stadium, as Ash and Jaddu had back in the day.”

Noor has played only three IPL seasons in his still-young career but performed admirably, with 48 wickets in 37 games.

Yet, De Villiers believes CSK’s star-studded batting lineup could compensate for any bowling worries.

“CSK are very similar to SRH, but their batters are a little bit smarter than the SRH batters. The CSK batters can score 100s in a classy way. They don’t just have to go and force it. They are all thinkers of the game with all the shots,” he stated.

Despite Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin’s absence this year, CSK will be bolstered by Sanju Samson’s inclusion, considering the right-hander’s incredible form in the recent T20 World Cup.

“They’ve traditionally not had too many wrist spinners in their ranks” – Abhinav Mukund on CSK’s IPL 2026 squad

Former Indian batter Abhinav Mukund believes the lack of many proven wrist-spinners is not a cause for concern for CSK ahead of IPL 2026. Mukund pointed to the franchise’s incredible success over the years, winning five titles, despite relying mostly on finger spin.

“While every other team has focused on wrist spin, CSK has won their titles with left-arm spin and finger spinners. They’ve traditionally not had too many wrist spinners in their ranks. So I won’t be surprised if Akeal Hosein has a role,” said Mukund (via the aforementioned source).

CSK suffered their worst IPL season in 2025, finishing at the bottom of the table for the first time in franchise history.