5 Players Chennai Super Kings should bid for in IPL 2021 Auction

by Abhishek Chakraborty

The three time IPL Champion, Chennai Super Kings had a rather dismal forgettable season in the UAE and required an immediate revamp before the start of this edition of IPL back in India. However, Chennai under MS Dhoni is known for retaining its core set of players and so did they continue their similar trend and only released just six players.

Chennai Super Kings will head into the auction with a substantial purse of 19.9 CR. They can buy a maximum of seven players and up to one overseas player. Here are the five players CSK can target in the auction:

1. Aaron Finch

Having lost Shane Watson due to his retirement from all forms of cricket, they are short of a reliable overseas opener. And what better option than Aussie T20 and ODI skipper, Aaron Finch. Finch got released by RCB after having a rather average season outing with them. But we all know under Dhoni, good players take great shape and Finch is enough experienced to auger well for a struggling Chennai Super Kings side and someone of his calibre can lend a lot of reliability at the top order.

Finch has already plied his trade in eight IPL franchises till date and this would end up being his ninth franchise if picked. The franchises he played for are –

2010- Rajasthan Royals

2011 and 2012- Delhi Daredevils

2013- Pune Warriors India

2014- Sunrisers Hyderabad

2015- Mumbai Indians

2016 and 2017- Gujarat Lions

2018- Kings XI Punjab

2020- Royal Challengers Bangalore

2. Steve Smith

Rajasthan Royals released Smith ahead of this IPL mini auction. Smith looked out of touch during his stint with them last year in the UAE and looked pretty much unsettled though he was chosen as the skipper of the franchise.

Not only did RR fail to qualify but ended up finishing last at the end of the season. But Smith lends stability to any batting order in the middle if utilized in the correct manner.

With Suresh Raina back in the scheme of things for Chennai Super Kings, a middle order comprising of Du Plessis, Raina, Smith can prove to be lethal for them. Dhoni, too played under Smith in Rising Pune Supergiant franchise in 2017 and reached the finals. They were then being coached by Stephen Fleming, present CSK coach. So, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Smith finds home in another bright yellow outfit.

3. Krishnappa Gowtham

He could well be a handy option, be it with the ball or bat. He can chip in when required for the franchise. Having got released from KXIP, Gowtham would surely be delighted to play under Dhoni and the veteran skipper could bring the best out of him as he certainly has the capability to deliver in the crucial moments of any match.

4. Avi Barot

Avi Barot finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer in the latest edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

What was impressive about the Saurashtra opener’s performances was the way he went about scoring his runs. Barot went after the bowlers right from the word ‘go’, something that was evident in his impressive strike rate of 184.96 during the tournament.

After being chosen as the Under-19 Cricketer of the Year in 2011, Barot failed to perform consistently. However, he seems to have found form and could interest a few IPL franchises this year. His wicket-keeping abilities could also add to his impressive portfolio and might see him bag a lucrative IPL contract come the 18th of February.

Chennai Super Kings could well go for him, and keep an additional young option in him alongside the likes of promising Narayan Jagadeesan in the squad.

5. Sam Billings

Having earlier been part of this franchise, Sam Billings has had some good success with them until he chose to pull out of franchise cricket. He’s back in the reckoning after he did put his name in the auction list.

Fleming & co. could well bid for him again and strengthen the bench strength of the squad. With MS Dhoni already being in the twilight phase of his illustrious career with the franchise, he might well give way to a few youngsters in the squad as we did see Faf leading Chennai Super Kings in one of the games last season with Jagadeesan donning the gloves behind the stumps.

Billings will not be new to the CSK system of thinking and can fit in well again with no hiccups and still deliver his goods.

CSK SQUAD:

MS Dhoni (c), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Narayan Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood, R Sai Kishore, Sam Curran, Robin Uthappa (traded)

Purse Remaining for Auction: INR 19.9 cr.

Players Remaining: 6
Overseas slots Remaining: 1