IPL 2025: Can 20-Year-Old Debutant Shaik Rasheed Help Save CSK’s season?
Rasheed Shows Glimpses of Brilliance on IPL Debut
The Chennai Super Kings have endured a very difficult 2025 Indian Premier League season, as the early optimism gained from beating the Mumbai Indians in their tournament opener was quickly extinguished, with the side losing each of their next five games.
On April 14, though, CSK fans felt that their team’s fortunes were about to change when their captain, MS Dhoni, steered the side to their second victory of the competition, chasing down Lucknow Super Giants’ 166/7 by five wickets and with three balls to spare.
While most of the headlines went to Dhoni and fellow batter Shivam Dube, who scored 43 off 37 balls and was not out at the end alongside his skipper, one player that caught the eye was 20-year-old debutant Shaik Rasheed.
The youngster from Andhra Pradesh has been a part of the Super Kings setup since 2023, but had never been given the opportunity to play in the senior team, with CSK known for preferring experienced campaigners above younger, untried players.
Against LSG, Rasheed opened the batting alongside New Zealander Rachin Ravindra in the absence of Devon Conway and showed glimpses of his ability as an opener, scoring a quick-fire 27 runs in just 19 deliveries, with 24 of his runs coming by way of boundaries.
The opening pair gave the five-time champions a solid foundation of 52 runs before Rasheed was dismissed, marking only the third time this season that CSK had surpassed 50 runs inside the powerplay overs.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Rasheed could barely contain his excitement and gratitude. He said:
“I am so happy to get a chance after two years. I played really well…Thank you to all the supporters for backing me from the very beginning. You’ve not stopped supporting CSK, it’s very humbling for all of us in the team. Thank you all.”
Unfortunately, the 20-year-old's time at the crease in his first match was cut short after he mistimed a short delivery off Avesh Khan, but there was enough in his innings to suggest that he could be a long-term fixture for the Super Kings for years to come.
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Rasheed’s Journey to IPL Selection
Hailing from Guntur, Rasheed represented Andhra Pradesh at the domestic level and developed a reputation as a classy top-order batsman, having featured in 17 first-class matches, racking up 1,204 runs at an average of 37.62.
The youngster has 12 List A and 17 T20 matches under his belt, while he also served as the vice-captain for India’s Under-19s at the 2022 World Cup, where he posted 201 runs in four matches at an average of 50.0.
As mentioned, his performances at the lower levels led CSK to acquire his services ahead of their title-winning season in 2023 for ₹ 20 lakhs, and while he did not feature for them over the next two seasons, the franchise maintained their faith in him and spent ₹ 30 lakhs to retain him during the 2025 IPL mega auction.
Rasheed and the Super Kings will play a potentially season-defining match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, so be sure to check out our CSK vs. SRH prediction to find out how our experts feel this one may pan out.
