Indian pacer Deepak Chahar wasn't too disappointed with the fact that he wasn't retained by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Chahar, who made his Ranji Trophy return after 10 years, is finally over his injury-prone days and has been in decent form taking 13 wickets in four matches for Rajasthan but does have one eye on the IPL auction, set to take place on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah.
Chahar admitted that he wasn't sure if he will return to CSK, even though he'd like to but was confident of the demand of his skill set because of the rise in powerplay scores after the last edition of the IPL. Chahar said that he'd want CSK to buy him back but if not, he named Rajasthan Royals, his state side-based franchise, as his second preference.
"I was not retained by them in the last mega auction as well. But they went all out for me and bought me back," Chahar was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
"I don't know what will happen this year, but I know my skill will be valued more now given the fact that around 90-100 runs are being scored in the Powerplay and that's why the teams are scoring more than 200 more frequently. I have proved how valuable I can be in limiting runs in that phase of the game.
"I think they will bid for me again. I would like to don the yellow jersey again and if not that, then I would want Rajasthan Royals to bid for me," Chahar, who was bought back by CSK for INR 14 crore, added.
In six editions with the franchise from 2018 to 2024 (missed in 2022), Chahar has taken 76 wickets for CSK in as many matches.
The Super Kings retained five players including Ruturaj Gaikwad (INR 18 cr), Matheesha Pathirana (INR 13 cr), Shivam Dube (INR 12 cr), Ravindra Jadeja (INR 18 cr), MS Dhoni (INR 4 cr). With Dhoni being the uncapped player according to the Dhoni rule, Chahar will be amongst one of the few RTM options for the franchise alongside Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra and Sameer Rizvi.
