The team
Things didn’t go to plan for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the 2024 IPL. They came into the tournament as the defending champions but failed to qualify for the playoffs. Injuries to key players played a part. Also, the team was going through a captaincy transition, with MS Dhoni handing over the reins to Ruturaj Gaikwad.
After the tournament, this correspondent asked CSK chief executive Kasi Viswanathan about how the management reacted to the failure. He was never going to press the panic button. “We are not going to win every year,” Viswanathan had said. “We had several injuries. But we would be absolutely fine going ahead.”
This is an out-and-out cricket franchise, totally aware of the highs and lows in sport. They don’t overreact. Ahead of the 2025 IPL mega auction, CSK had a clear retention strategy, and they managed to keep hold of their core group of cricketers, the biggest takeaway being retaining MS Dhoni as an uncapped player. The former captain remains the heartbeat of the franchise.
Auction purse
The five-time IPL champions have retained Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja for Rs 18 crore each, Matheesha Pathirana for Rs 13 crore, Shivam Dube for Rs 12 crore and Dhoni for Rs 4 crore. In the process, they have spent Rs 65 crore. They will go to the mega auction in Jeddah on November 24 and 25 with a purse of Rs 55 crore, out of a total of Rs 120 crore. They will have to build the team around the retained players.
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Areas they need to strengthen
CSK need an opening partner for Gaikwad. Their famous spin-choke at Chepauk needs quality spinners bowling in tandem. They need at least one high-quality, hit-the-deck fast bowler. Also, at 43 years of age, Dhoni no longer remains the finisher he used to be. So, CSK would like to have a death-overs specialist with the bat.
Players CSK would target
It is learnt that Washington Sundar is high on CSK’s wish list. But the off-spinning all-rounder will be one of the top attractions at the auction and will not come cheap. The franchise can’t break the bank on just one player. If Washington is unattainable, Ravichandran Ashwin could be their back-up option. CSK, according to sources, are keen on having Mohammed Shami as well. Once again, it will depend on how the bidding pans out. Given their trend-set, CSK are unlikely to go beyond Rs 15-16 crore even for a high-profile player.
Also, keep an eye on whether CSK bid for James Anderson, the 42-year-old England fast-bowling legend, who has come to the auction with a base price of Rs 1.25 crore. Following Dwayne Bravo’s departure, the Chennai-based franchise needs someone who can look after the bowling group. Anderson can fit into the player-cum-mentor role.
Players they would like to buy back
CSK released a lot of players they would have liked to retain – Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Mahesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande and Sameer Rizvi. The problem is that they can use only one Right-to-match (RTM) option at the auction. They could use it for Rachin.
Also Read: Five retentions all right, LSG have to do some rebuilding at IPL 2025 auction