The ten franchises of the Indian Premier League have locked their retention list. The retention and released lists by each team have increased the level of excitement for the upcoming IPL 2024 auctions. Each franchise will look forward to acquire players who can be their long term partners. Some teams will target young talent whereas some teams will look for a new captain. In this article we will talk about current champions Chennai Super Kings and their approach towards the auction. It will be interesting to see who they will target in the auction for the next editions of the tournament.
CSK target players IPL 2022
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have kept their squad almost same. The team decided to retain all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja , captain MS Dhoni , England all-rounder Moeen Ali and opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad. Among the big names they released were Ben Stokes, Ambati Rayudu, Kyle Jamieson. In this article we look at players CSK could target at the auction. Some would be the players that they had to let go and some would be an interesting trade from other teams.
Let’s have a look at players that CSK can target in the IPL 2023 auctions.
Shardul Thakur
Thakur was one of the big names Chennai Super Kings had to let go for the auction as they retained captain MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Given what he brings to the table, the Chennai franchise might be interested to have him back in the squad by trying to purchase him at the mega auction. KKR have released him ahead of IPL 2024 auction. CSK have also released Ben Stokes and therefore the team is in need for an all rounder. The 30-year-old bowling all-rounder is already familiar with Chennai Super Kings. When he returned to the UAE for IPL 2021, he was one of CSK’s star performers, claiming massive scalps game after game, including the final. He ended up as one of the top wicket-takers in IPL 2021. Thakur’s variations with the ball come in handy in T20 cricket. Add to that, he will add depth to the batting unit.
Pat Cummins
Chennai Super Kings bought star all rounder Ben Stokes for a whopping sum of INR 16.25 crore at the IPL 2023 auction. However, he was sidelined due to an injury and remained at bench for majority of the season. Ahead of IPL 2024 auction, he was released by CSK. There is a high probability that Chennai may target Pat Cummins as every franchise needs a foreign all rounder who can win the matches single handedly. Pat Cummins is definitely in the list of CSK target players 2024.
Manish Pandey
Ambati Raydu has taken retirement from IPL and the final of IPL 2023 was his last IPL match. Raydu was a crucial player for CSK in middle order. CSK may target Manish Pandey to fill the void left by Ambati Raydu. It is true that CSK do have Rahane but Manish Pandey also have the required experience and can bringh the stability in middle order. In IPL 2023, Manish was bought by the Delhi Capitals for Rs 2.40 Cr. However, he was quite unimpressive for Delhi as he scored only 160 runs in 10 games. MS Dhoni is known for extracting the best from talented players, and Manish Pandey can also deliver his best under him.
