Chennai Super Kings
On the final day of the Indian Premier League (IPL) retention process for the impending season 2021, former Indian cricketer Akash Chopra opined that this will be the right time for Chennai Super Kings, the two-time IPL winners, to shed their 'Dad's Army' tag and build a new team of young players. Aakash also suggested a few players who can be retained by CSK.
"As the deadline for the IPL Player Retention process approaches, I feel now would be the right time for CSK to shed their ''Dad's Army'' tag and introduce young talent in the team," Chopra said on Star Sports show "IPL: Retention Special."
"Mahendra Singh Dhoni has relied heavily on senior players who have performed in the past, but he along with the CSK think-tank need to change their strategy.
"They would certainly need to retain last year's match-winners like Ambati Rayudu, Shardul Thakur and Ruturaj Gaikwad," he added.
CSK had reached the IPL playoffs on each of their first 10 seasons but faltered in the last season, which was played in the UAE, finishing seventh with 12 points from six wins and lost eight matches.
According to a report on ESPNCricinfo, CSK have released Kedar Jadhav, M Vijay and Piyush Chawla.
Chawla, who was the most expensive Indian player at the IPL 2020 auction, having roped in for INR 6.75 crore by CSK, finished with just six wickets in seven games at an economy of 9.09. Jadhav scored 62 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 93.93 while Vijay managed 32 runs at a strike rate of 74.41 in three innings.
