Chennai: when Chennai Super Kings Last December’s IPL mini auction took everyone by surprise when a staggering sum of Rs 14.2 crore each was spent on new faces Prashant Veer and Karthik Sharma. The two even became the joint most expensive uncapped Indian players in the IPL auction.For a franchise known for its ‘Father’s Army’ tag and stability, there has been a marked change recently. Injuries have played a role, but it is difficult to ignore the changes in the team, with youngsters like Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Prashant and Karthik getting a chance. The franchise is trading its signed core for long-term investments, betting that infusing these youngsters will pay dividends in the years to come.CSK batting coach michael hussey Admitted that the team is in a period of change. “In a lot of ways, this is a fairly new team. You know, there’s some new players coming in, some good young talent that we’re looking to highlight in a few games as well. Ideally speaking, we’d love to settle on 11 or 12 that we’re very comfortable with and then just let those guys really develop into their roles. So hopefully, we can get some form together, put some wins together, and then hopefully we’ll have that same type of confidence.” Keep moving forward with the team.”This approach is evident in the way he has been with 20-year-old Karthik. The wicketkeeper-batsman has suffered a poor performance in his first five matches. Still, Hussey is confident he is just one game away from hitting his stride. He said, “He is a great talent; I hope we can see him at CSK for the next five, 10 years. He is ambitious and wants to perform well. We would love to give him as many chances as possible and see him really develop in a CSK shirt.”