IPL 2018 Auction: Decoding what CSK did today and what they should do tomorrow

Chennai Super Kings are one of the most iconic teams in IPL history with a vociferous fan base and the two-time champions will be making a return to India's premier T20 competition after a gap of two years in the 2018 edition.

Having retained the Indian trio of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja prior to the auctions, CSK had Rs 47 crores remaining out of their budget of Rs 80 crores.

The Chennai-based franchise also had two Right to Match (RTM) cards available but having retained three capped players already, they were not in power to exercise RTM for any other capped Indian player.

However, they were free to use the RTM card for retaining up to two overseas players, two uncapped players, or one from both categories.

What CSK did today...

Being a very closely knit unit, it was no secret that CSK desperately wanted to get the core of their side back during the auction.

By the manner in which Stephen Fleming & Co went about the auction on Saturday, it was evident that they clearly had a plan chalked out as to the players they were going to go after.

On top of their wishlist was undoubtedly Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the local boy and a fan-favourite amongst the CSK faithful.

The first player up for bidding in today's auction was Shikhar Dhawan and as expected, Sunrisers Hyderabad used their RTM card to retain the Indian batsman for a sum of Rs 5.20 crore.

The second player up for grabs was Ravichandran Ashwin and how CSK would have wished they had the option to use the RTM card, but that wasn't a possibility.

The CSK management did make it clear that they would try their best to bring Ashwin back into their fold but after initially bidding for the off-spinner, they pulled out of the race as Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab got into a bidding war for the 31-year-old and it was the latter who ultimately secured the prized asset for a sum of Rs 7.6 crore.

CSK quickly made amends though picking up a like-for-like replacement in the form of veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for his base price of Rs 2 crore.

CSK also started the bidding for England all-rounder Ben Stokes but he was someone who was going to fetch a hefty sum and the two-time champions soon pulled out of the bidding leaving Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab to once again go all out in a bidding war.

Stokes fetched the highest price on the day - going to Rajasthan Royals for a sum of Rs 12.5 crore - but with the RTM card in their kitty, not one but two, CSK exercised the opportunity to pick up the duo of Faf du Plessis and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo for a sum of Rs 1.6 crore and Rs 6.4 crore respectively.

Getting the South African batsman for such a low price was a steal no doubt and having lost out on Stokes, there was no way that CSK was going to let go of Bravo, who had a bidding war going on for him between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians.

With the two RTM cards used up, CSK opted not to bid for two of their former players in Murali Vijay and Brendon McCullum but they did go for Manish Pandey, engaging in a bidding war with Kings XI Punjab before pulling out when the asking price reached Rs 4 crore.

Pandey bagged a sum of Rs 11 crore eventually as he made his way to Sunrisers Hyderabad but what was evident from the CSK point of view was that the franchise was not going to go beyond a certain line in their quest for getting a player.

When it came to the all-rounders, CSK pulled out of the race for Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali but focussed their attention on the veteran duo fo Shane Watson and Kedhar Jadhav getting them for Rs 4 crore and Rs 7.8 crore respectively.

Amongst the wicketkeepers, CSK flirted with the prospect of bringing Dinesh Karthik into the squad before zeroing in on Ambati Rayudu for a sum of Rs 2.2 crore.

Two players the CSK team management really wanted in their ranks were South African speedster Kagiso Rabada and Indian leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and though they won the bidding war, they lost out on the RTM card to Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively with both players fetching a sum of Rs 4.2 crore.

They made amends signing the leg-spin duo of Imran Tahir, for his base price of Rs 1 crore and Karn Sharma, for a sum of Rs 5 crore.

It was a surprise that CSK made no further purchases on the day as their only active bidding for the likes of D'Arcy Short, Jofra Archer and Ishan Kishan also fickled out in the end.

So that's how the day unfolded for CSK as they focussed on experience over youth signing 8 players and in addition to the 3 retained players, they now have a squad size of 11, with Rs 17 crore remaining in their budget.

CSK Squad (As of today): MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Ryudu, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma

What CSK should do tomorrow...

The one thing CSK fans would be craving for is some youth in their ranks. They pretty much have their bases covered with four frontline spinners and a couple of proper all-rounders in Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo in addition to Jadeja and Jadhav.

That does, however, leave them short in a few areas, especially on the fast bowling front as they will need at least a couple of Indian pacers. They really went after Rabada, but having missed out on him, it is essential that they opt for someone who can make a big impact with the ball to open the bowling.

They will also need to focus on the uncapped players list as they are yet to include anyone in that category. The Indian players are fetching a lot of money and it is crucial that CSK plan their move correctly without burning a hole in their wallet.

Raina, Dhoni and Rayudu will form the core of CSK's batting no doubt, with the latter also doubling up as the side's second wicketkeeper but that means they need to look at their opening pair as well and it may not be a surprise if they give a shot at the unsold marquee players list to get a prominent figure in at the top of the innings.