The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will have a purse of 48 crore available with them when they go into the upcoming IPL 2022 mega-auction after they had retained four players: Ravindra Jadeja (16 crore), captain MS Dhoni (12 crore), Moeen Ali (8 crore), and Ruturaj Gaikwad (6 crore).
MS Dhoni led CSK to a fourth IPL title last year. However, the IPL 2022 is likely to be the last season as a player for ‘Thala’ in the IPL. CSK have a rebuild to do, in particular in the bowling department while they’d also be needed to pick solid batters. The mega-auction is scheduled for February 12 and 13.
Here are three batsmen CSK should go after in mega-auction:
Jonny Bairstow
Wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow would be an in-demand player at the mega-auction after being released from Sunrisers Hyderabad. That Bairstow is an absolute marauder of spin bowling is known, evident by England’s usage of him in the middle-order in their T20 side despite being a proven opener in ODI cricket.
The Super Kings were among the faster scoring teams against spin in IPL 2021; someone such as Bairstow, who scored at a strike rate of 142 for SRH over three seasons, will only add impetus to the run rate in the middle-overs.
David Warner
There are plenty of factors that may force CSK to bid for Australian opener David Warner in the mega-auction. Apart from being the most successful overseas batsman in the IPL, Warner also led SRH to the title in 2016.
Warner was Man of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup, held in the UAE, where he showed his improved batting abilities against spin-bowling. As CSK look for a gun opener to replace Faf du Plessis, Warner also provides a potential captaincy option post Dhoni.
Manish Pandey
While a powerful opener and a lower-order batter are the higher priorities for CSK going into the auction as far as the batting is concerned, they’d also have to fill in the void left by Suresh Raina as the anchor player.
Manish Pandey, who has scored over 3500 runs in the IPL and has loads of experience of the Indian conditions, fits the bill. An excellent fielder, Pandey can play the anchor role when early wickets fall or can drop down and swing the bat for some lusty blows towards the end as well.
