Chennai Super Kings should go for complete squad overhaul in IPL mega auction, says former Indian cricketer

Chennai Super Kings finished a disappointing seventh in the recently concluded IPL 2020, failing to qualify for the Playoffs for the first time in their history. Thus, MS Dhoni-led CSK would be looking for same major changes ahead of IPL 2021.

Image credits: Twitter/@IPL

Former India cricketer and current commentator Aakash Chopra has devised an interesting strategy for IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings in case a mega auction takes place. There have been widespread speculations about a major auction taking place before IPL 2021.

MS Dhoni-led CSK had finished at a disappointing seventh position in the points table of IPL 2020. They had loitered around at the bottom of the table for most of the tournament, becoming the first team to get knocked out of the Playoffs contention.

Talking on his YouTube show ‘Super Over’, Chopra gave some suggestions to the Chennai management which can make the side robust for the next season. Chopra remarked that CSK should go for a complete overhaul of the side except 2-3 players.

“My suggestion to the Chennai Super Kings would be to completely overhaul their team. In the sense, don’t completely change it, you have to keep Sam Curran, Dhoni has to stay, you want Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad to be with them,” he said on his YouTube channel. 

Chennai were called as ‘Dad’s Army’ in IPL 2020 by various sections of the media as well as the fans for their ageing side. They had the highest average age of any side in the tournament with their rusty performances further showcasing a declining team. They failed to get into the IPL Playoffs for the first time in their history.

Chopra, however, opined that in case it’s a mega auction, then the management has to be careful with the players they leave out, as they might not go for the price that they are looking for.

“But one thing they have to keep in mind is that, if it is a mega-auction, if they have players on whom they should be spending 15 or 12 crores to retain them. If they leave Deepak Chahar, will he go for 15 crores or if they leave Faf du Plessis, will he be sold very expensive or will Sam Curran will go for 12-15 crores,” he added.

Just a few days back, Chopra had garnered headlines for suggesting that CSK should leave out Dhoni in case the mega auction happened. Although, he had also said that CSK could later buy back Dhoni with the Right to Match card – but he shouldn’t be retained in the first place.

It only remains to be seen whether the much speculated ‘Mega Auction’ takes place or not before the next IPL season kicks off.