Chennai Super Kings endured their worst ever season in the just-concluded season of the Indian Premier League as they were the first team to get excluded from the playoffs. CSK and its skipper MS Dhoni have been under the scanner. Many are suggesting that MS Dhoni should retire from the league as well.
However, former Indian cricketer and popular commentator Aakash Chopra feels that the franchise just needs a major shakeup in their team ahead of the next season of the IPL.
Well, recently, Aakash Chopra took to his Facebook and shared a long post on his observation as he talked about the strategies the Chennai-based franchise could adopt at the IPL auction in a video.
In the video, he opined that CSK would b the most desperate ones among all the other IPL franchises for a mega-auction as he highlighted that the franchise doesn’t have a lot of players who must be retained. He said:
“The Chennai Super Kings need an overhaul. The vehicle has gone into the garage, they can’t only change the upholstery, all the parts will have to be removed and new parts will have to be put. Chennai Super Kings is the team that requires the mega auction the most and I also fear whom they can retain. They don’t have too many players to be retained because the first retention is of 15 crores, second 12.5 crores and the third around 8 crores.”
He added:
“But if they want to make the team afresh, will they want to retain anyone. If they retain, will they feel the need to spend 12-15 crores on Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni, Sam Curran or Ravindra Jadeja. Also will they look back again at Suresh Raina or Harbhajan Singh. I feel they will definitely not be able to look towards Harbhajan Singh and I feel that if it is a mega auction, they will not look towards Suresh Raina also.”
Aakash Chopra also opined that CSK should opt to release its skipper MS Dhoni and buy him back during the auction ahead of the next season. He also claimed that the franchise is unlikely to persist with Suresh Raina or Harbhajan Singh going ahead. He said:
“I feel the Chennai Super Kings should release MS Dhoni when they go for the auction. I am saying that because the next auction will be for 3 years and will Dhoni be with them for three years. I am not saying that they should not keep Dhoni. But if they keep him as the first retention, then 15 crore will get removed from their kitty. MS Dhoni is worth every single penny of that but if he is not there with them for 3 years, then they will have the 15 crore with them next year but they will not get a player worth 15 crores.”
He added:
“I feel MS Dhoni should himself ask CSK to put him in the auction and there is no question of ego in that because his team wants him to play for them and they can use the RTM card to take him at any time. If they have more money to pick the rest of the squad, they can make a better team. I feel it will be okay if the Chennai Super Kings do not retain any of their players.”
He further explained that MS Dhoni might require them to spend INR 15 crores for him. CSK would not be able to find a worthy replacement for their captain in the subsequent year, even though they may have money in their pocket. He said:
“They can use the RTM card for Dhoni and another one for Faf/Sam Curran and that’s about it. And you buy all the rest because I don’t think there is any player who will go for 12 crores or 8 crores in the auction. So I feel they should not retain anyone and they should get Dhoni in the auction, either with the RTM or lifting the baton first and build the team around him. So, the Chennai Super Kings should release MS Dhoni and buy him back in the auction.”
https://www.facebook.com/AakashChopraOfficial/videos/368696587688913/
