As the 2026 edition of the prestigious T20 franchise league, Indian Premier League (IPL) progresses, in the 7th game of IPL 2026, five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will host Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on April 3.
Both teams will come into this game on the back of opposite results. While the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side went down by 8 wickets against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), the men from Punjab registered a 3-wicket win over the Gujarat Titans (GT).
Despite a loss, Jamie Overton had a good day, scoring 43 runs off 36 deliveries for CSK. PBKS saw Vijaykumar Vyshak and Cooper Connolly standout in their triumph that day. But with the massive eyeballs that a CSK game brings, there could be some unknown performers as the two teams take the field tonight. Let’s take a look at a few players who might help their respective sides.
3 Unknown players who could be match-winners in CSK vs PBKS
Xavier Bartlett
The right-arm swing bowler from Australia, Xavier Bartlett, has so far featured in only 5 IPL games since making his debut in IPL 2025. But boasting of an experience of over a hundred T20 matches along with a knack of picking wickets in the powerplay through his disciplined spells proves his importance, especially offering as a wicket-taking option with the impact player rule. Although he had a forgettable day in PBKS’ opening match, where he conceded 36 runs in his four-over spell and went wicketless, he could be a game-changer on a given day. He took a superb catch the other day, that would certainly boost his confidence.
Kartik Sharma
A wicketkeeper-batter known for hitting sixes, hails from Bharatpur, Rajasthan. The 19-year-old, who became the joint-most expensive uncapped Indian player at the IPL 2026 mini-auction when signed by CSK for INR 14.2 Crore, couldn’t make much of an impact with the bat on his IPL debut vs RR, but has the capability to come out on top. He showed great signs and is a serious talent in six-hitting.
Vyshak Vijaykumar
Another name from the PBKS squad is Vyshak Vijaykumar, right-arm medium fast bowler from India. Bringing variations with off-cutters and ability to pick wickets under pressure gives Vyshak an edge over the others. While he made it to the big stage on his debut with RCB in 2023, he has stood up for PBKS since joining them ahead of IPL 2025. In PBKS’ maiden match in IPL 2026, Vyshak registered figures of 3/34 in his four-over spell at an economy of 8.50.
IPL 2026: CSK vs PBKS squads
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), MS Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Matthew William Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Spencer Johnson.
PBKS: Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod, Harnoor Brar, Pyla Avinash, Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Harpreet Brar, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Priyansh Arya, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad, Lockie Ferguson.
