3 popular players who had a very brief association with CSK ft. Andrew Flintoff 

In what came as a major development, star English all-rounder Ben Stokes pulled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 2024. On November 23, his IPL franchise, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), announced that the current English Test skipper took the decision to manage his workload.

Interestingly, Stokes became the most expensive player in CSK's history after the franchise secured his service for a massive sum of ₹16.25 crore at the IPL 2023 auction. The 32-year-old played only a couple of games due to his knee injury, returning with underwhelming scores of eight and seven.

Knowing that the retention date is set for Sunday, November 26, it is unclear if Chennai will actually dismiss Stokes from their roster, but it seems plausible that they would.

If released, Stokes won't be the first big player whose tenure with CSK was a brief one. Across its 14 years of history, the Chennai-based franchise have seen several huge players play for them.

In this listicle, we will take a look at three of those popular players who had a very brief association with CSK.

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#3 Thisara Perera - 1 match

Thisara Perera during the New Zealand v Sri Lanka - ODI [Getty Images]

Thisara Perera is one of the few overseas players who has played for six different IPL franchises. However, many fans won't know that he was even part of the CSK unit many years ago.

Perera was picked up at the 2010 player auction by the Super Kings for ₹23 lacs. He was 20 years old back then and got to play only one match during the season, which came against the Mumbai Indians (MI). He didn't get an opportunity to bat, while his bowling saw him concede 19 runs in one over.

The Sri Lankan all-rounder didn't get another chance in the 2010 edition and was eventually released by CSK ahead of the 2011 IPL.

After being released by the Super Kings prior to the 2011 auctions, Perera has represented five different IPL franchises in six seasons - Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab, and Rising Pune Supergiant.

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#2 Tim Southee - 5 matches

Tim Southee for Chennai Super Kings. [Getty Images]

Despite being the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand in T20Is, Tim Southee has never been able to find his ground in the IPL. In the 54 matches he has played in the IPL, Southee has bagged 47 wickets at an economy rate of 8.67.

Southee's first-ever IPL franchise was CSK, who paid ₹46 lacs for his services ahead of the 2011 edition. The right-arm pacer had a remarkable ODI World Cup 2011, where he took 18 wickets in eight games for New Zealand.

However, he played just five games for the Super Kings in IPL 2011, in which he took four wickets with his best figures being 1/30.

Southee was eventually released by CSK for the 2012 edition of the IPL. He is currently under contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

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#1 Andrew Flintoff - 3 matches

Andrew Flintoff played in the IPL for CSK. [Getty Images]

Many fans might not remember but England legend Andrew Flintoff was part of the IPL in 2009. The flamboyant all-rounder plied his trade for CSK after the franchise bought him for a then-record fee of ₹7.5 crore at the 2009 IPL player auction.

Unfortunately for him, Flintoff had a disastrous IPL campaign after being bought for such a massive amount. The all-rounder played just three games for the Chennai Super Kings in which, he scored 62 runs and took two wickets.

Flintoff became the joint-most expensive player in 2009 alongside his compatriot Kevin Pietersen, who was bought for the same sum by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).