The most popular franchise and 4 times winner MS Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings was the champion of the last edition of IPL. CSK badly failed in 2020 as they could not make their position in the top 4 for the very first time but they turned it back last year as they lifted the trophy for the fourth time. Skipper MS Dhoni already confirmed that he will continue his game with this franchise yet one more season. It will be exciting to know about CSK auction strategy for IPL 2022 Mega Auction.
CSK retained players 2022
The SU4ER KINGS 💛#YelloveAgain #WhistlePodu 🦁 pic.twitter.com/esmttRf48c
— Chennai Super Kings – Mask P😷du Whistle P🥳du! (@ChennaiIPL) November 30, 2021
Last year CSK had a perfectly balanced team in every section but ahead of next season due to retention rule they managed to retain just four players- Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (12 cr), Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (16 cr), youngster Ruturaj Gaikwad (8 cr) and English all-rounder Moen Ali (6 cr). CSK now have only 48 crores to select players from the upcoming Mega Auction.
CSK auction strategy 2022
We all know that the team management of CSK always searches for experienced players in the auction with some young blood. The team management will enter the auction room with the strategy to make a balanced squad. Now take a look at which players CSK might target in the upcoming mega auction in February ahead of next season.
IPL 2022 CSK target players – Wicket-Keeper
This is the only position where the team management has been most relieving as they have one of the best WK in cricket history, MS Dhoni. He keeps the wicket for CSK since he began to play IPL. As they have experienced world-class wicketkeeper, it is very clear that they will not invest much money in the auction for a backup wicket keeper batsman. They might target English wicket-keeper batsman Sam billings who was a part of this family the season 2018 & 2019. He can bat in the middle order with a strike rate of 125 in t20 games. CSK might target Mohammed Azharuddin for IPL 2022. He was released by RCB last year. His performance in domestic level cricket is quite impressive as he scored 600 runs in barely 18 games since his T20 debut in the year 2016. CSK may look for a wicketkeeper for the upcoming years in the absence of MS Dhoni.
IPL 2022 CSK target players – Batsman
South African superstar Faf Du Plessis and Indian Ruturaj Gaikwad were the backbones of CSK’s batting lineup last year. Ruturaj won the orange cap last season whereas another opener Faf Du Plessis was the second-highest run-getter as he managed to score 633 runs In 16 games with a fantastic average of 45.21. CSK retained the orange cap holder Ruturaj but failed to retain Faf. A few days back in an interview CSK’s CEO confirmed that they are abundantly confident that they can bring back Faf to their squad. If somehow it will not be possible for them in the auction room to purchase Du Plessis then they could target Jason Roy. This English batsman likely plays with the strike rate of 140 in franchise-based cricket as well as in T20I. As they released some promising middle-order batsmen like Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, and Robin Uthappa, they are hunting for some middle-order batsmen. Rahul Tripathi and Shah Rukh Khan might be a vital addition to the CSK middle order. Last year he made his IPL debut in PBKS jersey where he smashed 153 runs with the strike rate of 134.21.
IPL 2022 CSK target players – All-Rounder
CSK already retained their star all-rounders Moen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja ahead of IPL 2022. Because of retention rule, CSK was forced to release their other all-rounders- carribean Dwayne Bravo and English 23-year-old seam bowling all-rounder Sam Curran. CSK might bring back Sam Curran in the auction but they might not give much interest to Dwayne Bravo as he is already 39 and can hardly keep his fitness in the upcoming days. CSK might target Mark Wood and David Willey as their record with both willow and ball is notable in this shortest format. Mark Wood dismissed the batsmen 46 times in his 38 appearances with an average of 23.63. The all-round department is not a problem for CSK at all because they already have world class all-rounders like Jadeja and Moeen Ali.
IPL 2022 CSK target players – Bowlers
We know that the bowling department of CSK did pretty well last year but somehow they felt a lack of a quick seam bowler who can bowl with 140+ kmph especially in the death overs. CSK needs to be more sensitive and calculative as they released their all bowlers. In the recent past, we noticed CSK management always try to bring their former players back in the squad through auction. As a result, there is a high chance that CSK might bring back their former trusted bowlers like Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, and Josh Hazlewood. Shardul Thakur and Aussie quick-star Hazlewood are in their top form recently. They might give interest to the Kiwi pacer Lockie Ferguson who played for KKR last year. Lockie picked 94 wickets in 84 games with an average of 23.15 and also has an impressive economy of just 7.55. He can continuously deliver the ball with a speed of 140+kmph. CSK might target Australian left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc who can bowl 140+ speed. In the recent past, Starc’s form is not remarkable but they can choose him based on experience. He took 150 wickets in 104 games with an average of 18.62. Keep in mind the wicket of chepuk stadium the team management might give interest on wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. We know this china-man bowler had a good record with the ball in both IPL and international cricket but in recent years KKR did not give him much more chance. CSK has a lot of options for spinners in the mega auction like Rahul Chahar, Ravi Ashwin, Mujeeb ur Rahman.
