"Don't see Mahendra Singh Dhoni changing his opening combination" - Sanjay Manjrekar on why CSK wouldn't plunge for Rachin Ravindra at the IPL auction

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won't invest in the New Zealand batter Rachin Ravindra in the upcoming IPL 2024 auction on December 19.

Despite being priced at only ₹50 lakh, the 24-year-old will likely harbor a bidding war amongst the franchises. He is expected to go for big bucks, thanks to his sensational 2023 World Cup. Ravindra finished as the tournament's fourth-leading run-scorer with 578 runs at an average of over 64 and a strike rate of 106.22. He scored three centuries and two half-centuries.

However, Manjrekar feels Ravindra might not meet CSK's requirement of finding a replacement for Ambati Rayudu, who has now retired. In a conversation with Star Sports after the India-South Africa first ODI, Manjrekar said:

"As a reserve batter, if it doesn't cost too much after seeing how the auction goes. But I don't see Mahendra Singh Dhoni changing his opening combination because they got virtually 80 percent of their runs from there. Batting in the middle order in the IPL will be tough for a guy like Rachin. He had to be in the top three and top two.

"If you ask me, to make the kind of impact at number four and five in the IPL for somebody like him will be tough. I don't think they will be looking at that. They've got their foreign players."

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway formed a formidable opening partnership for CSK last year, helping them win their fifth IPL title.

The franchise released Ben Stokes and seven others to free up a purse of ₹32.1 crore for the upcoming auction.

---

"If they decide to Faf du Plessis can bat at number three" - Sanjay Manjrekar

Kohli and Faf did most of the heavy lifting with the bat for RCB last season.

Sanjay Manjrekar has said that the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) might plunge for Rachin Ravindra at the upcoming auction. He reckons skipper Faf du Plessis can move to No. 3 in the batting order.

During the 2023 World Cup, the New Zealand batting all-rounder called playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium an experience close to his heart. It raised speculations about Ravindra featuring for RCB next season.

When asked about the franchise that may be interested in Rachin Ravindra, Manjrekar said:

"RCB. If they decide to Faf du Plessis can bat at number three, then they have Rachin Ravindra and Virat Kohli. That's something they could do."

Du Plessis has plenty of experience batting at No.3 for South Africa. However, it would be hard to see RCB break his opening partnership with Virat Kohli, which worked wonders last season.

The former South African skipper was the second leading run-scorer with 730 runs, while Kohli was fourth with 639 runs. Despite the duo's heroics, RCB still missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

They released 11 players during Retention Day and will have a purse of ₹ 23.25 crore at the auction.