Chennai Super Kings are arguably the most successful and most controversial franchise in the Indian Premier League history with a win percentage of 61.28% and a record of finishing in the top four in every IPL they have participated, CSK superiority is unquestionable. With MS Dhoni in the helm for all the 10 seasons they have played, there was no absence of media focus and fan following. Also, the controversies came thick and fast and the biggest of them was the match-fixing scandal in 2015 as a result of which they were suspended for two seasons. However, CSK celebrated their return to IPL with their third triumph in the 2018 version and were runners-up last season.
As a result of their continuous success, CSK generally goes with a stable team and hence this time also they have opted to retain 20 players and released just six players. There are still a few key gaps and backups they should look to bring in the team looking into the future.
The only problem for CSK at this stage is age. They have four batsmen over 34; two of their key overseas all-rounders Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo are 38 and 36 respectively. Harbhajan Singh is touching 40 and spending more time as a commentator whereas Imran Tahir has already passed 40. Even MS Dhoni is 38 and has not played serious cricket post India’s semi-final loss in the World Cup.
Hence, creating proper backups for their ageing stars will be the primary agenda for CSK team management in the auction. One of their key young players is Ruturaj Gaikwad who had a fantastic season in domestic cricket and with India A in the limited over format. CSK should look to play Gaikwad from the beginning and can opt for other young batting options like Ankush Bains, Rahul Tripathi or some of the top performers from Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. They can also focus on players like Aaron Finch, Martin Guptill, and Evin Lewis to strengthen their batting further.
In the bowling department, they have some very good young fast bowlers like Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, and Shardul Thakur. However, Ngidi was injured in most part of the last IPL. CSK team management can decide to bring one back-up for him during the auction and can choose from possible options like Anrich Nortje, Adam Milne, Alzarri Joseph, and Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Imran Tahir performed as an absolute champion in recent IPL but with age not on his side, grooming a few young spinners should be a good idea for CSK. There are options from young Indian spinners like Varun Chakravarthy, Prayas Ray Barman, and Sudhesan Midhun or they can look for overseas options like Hayden Walsh or Tabraiz Shamsi.
The most important piece in the CSK jigsaw puzzle is MS Dhoni and after releasing Sam Billings they would look for a wicketkeeper to complement Dhoni. The 38-year-old might like to be free from the burden of captaining and keeping at the same time. Prabhsimran Singh was under lots of focus during last IPL auction when he was picked up by Kings XI Punjab for 4.80 Crore. However, he is released by KXIP and CSK can opt for the young wicket-keeper as an understudy for MS Dhoni.