IPL 2021: 5 Players CSK could retain

#3 Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur was arguably CSK's best bowler in IPL 2021. (Image Courtesy: IPLT20.com)

While there wasn't much to separate Shardul Thakur from Deepak Chahar, his superior performances in IPL 2021 have made me rank him higher.

As we've often heard commentators exclaim, Thakur has a knack for picking up wickets and is CSK's strike bowler. He has always been one, and the only factor of concern was his high economy rate. Now that he's reined it in to a reasonable degree, Thakur is among the best pacers in India.

He has established himself in the Indian Test side, and that has also positively impacted his performances in white-ball cricket. Thakur's lines and lengths have been accurate this season, and he has picked up lots of wickets simply by making the batters work for their runs.

Indian seamers playing for the national team are assets that every IPL team would like to have. In Thakur, CSK have a promising talent who should do even better in the upcoming seasons. His wicket-taking abilities and his power-hitting with the bat make him a valuable resource in any T20 side, and he should be a frontrunner for retention.

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#2 Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad won both the Emerging Player Award and the Orange Cap. (Image Courtesy: IPLT20.com)

While there was some explaining to do for the previous three picks, this one is pretty simple. A young and upcoming batter who won both the Orange Cap and the Emerging Player awards and has received the praise of the entire cricketing world is someone you'd want to retain.

Ruturaj Gaikwad's opening partnership with Faf Du Plessis was the backbone of CSK's strong showing in IPL 2021. The maturity and composure he showed at the crease was remarkable.

While Gaikwad endured a tough start to the season, he repaid the management's faith by putting out excellent performances in the UAE leg. He finished with a whopping 635 runs in 16 matches, averaging 45.35 at a solid strike rate of 136.26.

All franchises will want the best Indian talent in their squads for the long run, and if CSK let Gaikwad go, it will be a blunder. He's likely to be a mainstay of their batting lineup in future seasons, and it's a pretty easy decision to hold on to him.

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#1 Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja could become CSK's next captain. (Image Courtesy: IPLT20.com)

Retaining Ravindra Jadeja should be the easiest of decisions to make for CSK. He's easily the most valuable player in this CSK squad and is another reason for their success in IPL 2021.

Jadeja bowled tight lines and choked the run flow with the ball, finishing with 13 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 7.06. He also excelled as a finisher with the bat, scoring 227 runs at an average of 75.66, and could easily have scored more runs had he batted up the order.

Jadeja is also arguably the best fielder in world cricket right now, and all that adds up to a player that every side would want. He took 13 catches at IPL 2021, including two stunners in the final against KKR.

Jadeja has worked hard to become one of India's few all-format players. He's likely to be at his best for many seasons to come and should be the focal point for this CSK side in IPL 2022. Both fans and the team management should know that retaining Jadeja is a no-brainer and something that they should surely do.