Mumbai pacer Tushar Deshpande was not retained by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. He has revealed that if he is not bought by CSK again, then he would love to play for the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise.
Tushar Deshpande made his Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2020 when he was bought by Delhi Capitals (DC) in an auction. He then made the switch to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2022 and has been their premier bowler for some time now.
He has also been one of the mainstays for the Mumbai team in FC cricket. He has 97 wickets in 36 matches and has also scored 511 runs including one century. In 40 List-A games, Deshpande has 51wickets and 82 T20 matches the pacer has 118 wickets to his name.
If not CSK, then I would love to play for Mumbai Indians- Tushar Deshpande
Tushar Deshpande flourished under the captaincy and guidance of MS Dhoni in Chennai Super Kings. He had his breakthrough moment in IPL 2023 when due to injuries to the main bowlers, Deshpande was the strike bowler for CSK.
He returned with 21 wickets in 17 IPL 2023 matches, which proved to be an amazing performance for him. He helped CSK win the IPL 2023, defeating Gujarat Titans in the final in Ahmedabad and becoming five-time champions.
Then in the IPL 2024, where CSK failed to reach the playoffs, Deshpande picked 17 wickets in 13 games. Overall in 42 IPL matches, the Mumbaikar has 42 wickets with a best of 4/27 and economy of 9.64.
Ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, Chennai Super Kings retained only Ruturaj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, and Shivam Dube.
In an interaction with Crictracker, Tushar Deshpande was asked if he is not picked by CSK in the IPL 2025 auction, which team he would like to play for next season.
“If Not CSK Then I Would Love To Play For Mumbai Indians because it is my home team and playing for your home team in front of your home crowd is a different feeling.
I have played in Wankhede a couple of times. the atmosphere is completely different playing in front of your home crowd. Even if i was playing in the yellow jersey, they were cheering for me. I would love to have an opportunity to play for MI if not CSK,” Tushar Deshpande told Crictracker in an interaction.
“If Not CSK Then I Would Love To Play For Mumbai Indians” : Tushar Deshpande@mipaltan Please Get Him in Mumbai Indians At Any Cost 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/ncufUmixtM
— Junaid Khan (@JunaidKhanation) November 22, 2024