IPL 2020 Auction: 3 players CSK could target in the auction

One of the most successful and without doubt the best in terms of consistency in the league, the Chennai Super Kings have once again retained their core side as expected, ahead of the player auctions for the IPL 2020 season.

CSK is the only side in the league which has stuck with one captain thus far, which is a sign of a good franchise and that has further led to very less of chopping and changing. Even during the season, we hardly see MS Dhoni tinker with his playing XI as he believes in sticking to players who he feels will deliver in the big games.

Chennai Super Kings released five players ahead of the IPL 2020 player auctions, in a list that includes Englishmen Sam Billings and David Willey, India’s Mohit Sharma and two uncapped players in Dhruv Shorey and Chaitanya Bishnoi.

South Africa’s fast bowler Lungi Ngidi had to miss the entire season in IPL 2019 due to injury. The right-arm quick from SA is fully fit now and is set to feature in next year’s edition. Chennai Super Kings have ₹14.60 Cr available and five slots to be filled, out of which they can pick a maximum of two overseas players.

Also see – Ranji points table

Even though most of the slots are filled and CSK appear a settled unit, the MS Dhoni-led side might be looking to add a few players to their roster. On that note, here are three possible players they could be targetting to sign from the player auction.

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#1 Rahul Tripathi

Rahul Tripathi

One of the key strengths of the Chennai Super Kings over the years has been the quality of Indian players in their playing XI. The overseas quota of four players per team pretty much evens out among all teams and its the local players who make all the difference.

The likes of Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedhar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja have all played international cricket and use their experience during crunch situations. This is where CSK might look to include one more Indian batsman to the squad as a backup.

Rahul Tripathi, who was released by Rajasthan Royals can be a good inclusion to the side because he plays spin well and can be slotted either at the top or in the middle order.

#2 Adam Milne

Surrey v Kent Spitfires - Vitality Blast

Over the years, Chennai Super Kings have always looked to get an out and out fast bowler in their ranks, be it Doug Bollinger or Dirk Nannes in the past, and most recently, Mark Wood for the 2018 edition of the IPL.

In their present squad, the fast bowling is mainly dependant on Deepak Chahar and Lungi Ngidi. Hence, they might want to include the New Zealand quick Adam Milne into their squad, mainly to play in the away games where there might be a little help for the fast bowlers.

Milne is a genuine wicket-taker who has the ability to bowl good yorkers at the death and that was one area of concern for the men in yellow last year. Dwayne Bravo has been doing that successfully for few years, but batsmen have now started to line him up and score freely, thus making him little ineffective at the back end of the innings.

#3 Chris Morris

Chris Morris has a lot of experience in the shortest format

CSK skipper MS Dhoni likes to have a lot of all rounders who offer him a lot of variety with both bat and ball. The presence of all rounders gives each team flexibility and that’s one of the keys to be successful in the T20 format.

One such all rounder that CSK might want to have in their team is the South African Chris Morris, who was surprisingly released by Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2020 player auctions.

Morris played for the 3-time IPL champions back in 2013, and the medium pace all-rounder would know about the culture of this side and hence can be a good pick as a back up option.

The South African can play the role of the 6th bowler who can send down a couple of overs and also can be a destructive batsman at the death, which can release some of the pressure on MS Dhoni to do all the scoring in the final few overs.