He was left alone without support

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag opined that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Anshul Kamboj lacked support from the other bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The right-arm bowler had a stellar individual campaign, picking up 21 wickets in 14 matches, at an average of 25.23. However, only two other bowlers from the team managed to pick up more than 10 wickets in the season.

Anshul Kamboj remained wicketless in only three matches in the campaign, as he proved to be a reliable exponent with both the new and old ball. His responsibility increased after the season-ending injuries of Nathan Ellis and Khaleel Ahmed as well.

Although Kamboj had a few disappointing outings towards the end of the league stage, he comfortably emerged as the team’s leading wicket-taker, and is currently placed third in the Purple Cap list.

Virender Sehwag outlined that CSK have a lot to think about after their 89-run loss to the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which sealed their exit from the playoffs race.

“Whatever playing XI they have played has not worked at all, their batting order has not worked. I think they will have to rethink their strategy and combination. They will also find some new bowling options, because it cannot be that only 2 bowlers are performing. Kamboj, no doubt, has taken the most wickets, but he was left alone without support. If he had a partner with him, then things might have been different. The other bowlers did not contribute, and Overton and Khaleel got injured as well,” he said on Cricbuzz.

Anshul Kamboj’s recent form has been rewarded with a call-up for the India ‘A’ team, which will face Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in June.

“Their powerplays are quite normal, the 50-60 runs one” – Virender Sehwag calls for a massive revamp in CSK top-order after poor IPL 2026 season

Virender Sehwag stressed the fact that CSK cannot move forward with their current opening pair, as they lack the firepower to produce high totals in the powerplay like other franchises consistently do.

“I think they have to keep such batters in the top order like RR have, like Suryavanshi and Jaiswal, or like PBKS have in Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh. If you look at both Samson and Ruturaj, they are not such explosive batters that they can finish in the game in the powerplay,” Sehwag opined.

“They must have made a maximum of 70 runs in the powerplay this season, otherwise their powerplays are quite normal, the 50-60 runs one. If you let your middle order come in early, which is already not scoring runs, then it only becomes tougher. They will have to see what changes they can make in the top three,” he added.

Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad opened together in 13 innings in IPL 2026, where they had an average of just 25.84, and stitched together a 50-run partnership just once.