IPL 2023 Player Auction: The super successful Chennai Super Kings franchise led by former India skipper and wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni had a pretty dismal IPL in 2022. They had a pretty dismal outing in the 15th edition and are in dire need of a change. The 4-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings are an aging unit, have no doubts about that, but they have this reputation of bouncing back again and again. The conjecture around MS Dhoni's retirement keeps on growing, but the good news is that he will be back and will don the skipper's hat for CSK in the 16th edition.
The 2022 edition was Chennai Super Kings' second-worst season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history. There was a lot of air and a growing conundrum around MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja's relationship as teammates. Jadeja was bestowed with captaincy duties by he stepped down midway and Dhoni had to take the reins of the team. CSK lost 10 out of their 14 league games and finished 9th on the leaderboard. Owing to this mediocre performance, they could accumulate just 8 points. Ahead of the mini auctions that will be held on December 23, 2022, in Kochi, the CSK franchise released 8 players from their squad. The list includes Dwayne Bravo, Adam Milne, Robin Uthappa, C Hari Nishaanth, KM Asif, K Bhagath Varma, N Jagadeeshan, and Chris Jordan.
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The Chennai Super Kings have a squad size of 18 and as of now, they have 2 overseas slots remaining. The MS Dhoni-led franchise has INR 20.45 crore left in their purse and they have their job cut out for them. Dwayne Bravo is all set to join them as their bowling coach/mentor and by this time, the franchise will be scratching their heads about the combination they want to go with. With Bravo retiring, Chennai Super Kings will be hunting for an overseas all-rounder, especially someone who can bowl at the death. Here is a list of players that CSK might target in the upcoming auction.
Sam Curran (Base price INR 2 crore)
Interestingly, Curran was an ensemble part of the Chennai Super Kings 2021 victorious squad. With Dwayne Bravo bowing out of the IPL arena, Curran completely fits the bill and can do CSK a world of good with his all-round capabilities, especially his death bowling skills. Player of the T20 World Cup 2022 has played 36 matches this year and has claimed 46 prized scalps. In 2022, Curran has bowled with an economy of 7.86. In 36 matches, Curran has also scored 495 runs with a strike rate of 133.78
Rilee Rossouw (Base price INR 2 crore)
Rilee Rossouw has had a stellar 2022, especially when T20Is are concerned. Make no mistake, the Proteas batsman will be on the list of every franchise and he certainly is one of the sought-after T20 batsman right now. Rossouw has a decent experience of playing in subcontinent conditions and the CSK management will have it in the back of their minds. In 2022, South African dasher Rossouw has played a total of 42 T20 innings and his numbers are just phenomenal. At a strike rate of 176.08, Rossouw has scored 1340 runs and has hit 2 centuries.
Manish Pandey (Base price INR 1 crore)
Interesting pick is it? there is certainly a reason behind it. Pandey, who played for Lucknow Super Giants last year is one of the few experienced Indian batters available in this year's mini-auction. Chennai Super Kings have let gone Robin Uthappa and Pandey can certainly cover for him. In his IPL career, Pandey has played 129 innings. With an IPL career strike rate of 29.90, Pandey has scored 3648 runs and has scored 21 half-centuries and 1 century
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Here is how CSK are looking ahead of the auction
Released: Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, Adam Milne, Hari Nishaanth, Chris Jordan, Bhagath Varma, KM Asif, Narayan Jagadeesan
Traded in: NA
The balance remaining for auction: INR 20.45 crore
Remaining Overseas slots: 2
Current squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chowdhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Deepak Chahar, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana
