Chennai Super Kings broke the bank on 20-year-old left-arm spinner Prashant Veer, acquiring him for ₹14.2 crore at the IPL 2026 mini auction on Tuesday. CSK also paid ₹14.2 crore for Kartik Sharma, and the pair became the joint-highest paid uncapped players in IPL auction history, having come at a base price of ₹30 lakh each.
The Uttar Pradesh player will be joining a franchise that has the joint-most IPL titles with Mumbai Indians (5), and will be in the spotlight in the upcoming season, especially due to the price tag. He will also be joining a team that has a legendary player, MS Dhoni.
Speaking to India Today, Prashant opened up on becoming Dhoni's teammate. He said, "Sir, it was truly surprising for me. I hadn’t expected this much. I had spoken to their Chennai officials before, and they had mentioned something, but I didn’t anticipate this level of opportunity. I feel very blessed and am excited to meet Dhoni bhai. I’ll try to learn as much as I can from him. Right now, it’s just the beginning; I have to focus on playing cricket."
On what advice he would ask from Dhoni, he said, "There’s no specific plan yet. Maybe just a couple of things about cricket, his mindset. If I can learn even a little from him, it’ll be very helpful."
For Uttar Pradesh, Prashant was in good form at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, smacking 112 runs in six innings at an average of over 37 and a strike rate exceeding 170. He has also taken nine wickets in seven games.
Apart from Kartik and Prashant, CSK also acquired Akeal Hosein for ₹2 crore. The biggest buy in the mini auction was Cameron Green, as KKR purchased him for ₹25.2 crore, from a base price of ₹2 crore. He also became the most expensive overseas cricketer in IPL history.