Chennai Super Kings had a disappointing end to the 12th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) where they lost to rivals Mumbai Indians in the final. More painful was the fact that they also handed over the title of the ‘most decorated team’ to MI in the process. MS Dhoni and Co will thus look forward to changing that fact by adding a fourth trophy of their own in 2020. However, that might prove to be slightly tricky, since the CSK is an alarmingly ageing squad. Coach Stephen Fleming will, thus, be looking to make a major upheaval to the franchise by infusing young talent at the 2020 IPL auctions.
Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2019
CSK started the season with three consecutive wins against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals. In the fourth match, they got a reality check as Mumbai Indians defeated them by 37 runs. CSK then hit back with four back to back resounding victories over KXIP, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and KKR. Losses against Sunrisers Hyderabad and RCB slowed their momentum.
In the last four games, they won against SRH and DC while losing to MI and KXIP to settle for second place in the group stage. In the playoffs, they lost to MI twice- Qualifier 1 and Finals.
Key batsmen who lead CSK to the finals were MSD (416 runs), Shane Watson (398 runs), Faf Du Plessis (396 runs) and Suresh Raina (383 runs). Imran Tahir (26 wickets), Deepak Chahar (22 wickets), Harbhajan Singh (16 wickets) and Ravinder Jadeja (15 wickets) played crucial roles with the ball for CSK.
Squad
| Players Retained | Players Released |
| MS Dhoni (c & wk) | Mohit Sharma |
| Suresh Raina (VC) | Sam Billings |
| Faf du Plessis | Dhruv Shorey |
| Shane Watson | David Willey |
| Ambati Rayudu | Scott Kuggeleijn |
| Murali Vijay | Chaitanya Bishnoi |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | |
| Kedar Jadhav | |
| Karn Sharma | |
| Imran Tahir | |
| Harbhajan Singh | |
| Deepak Chahar | |
| Mitchell Santner | |
| Ravindra Jadeja | |
| Shardul Thakur | |
| Monu Kumar | |
| KM Asif | |
| Lungi Ngidi | |
| Dwayne Bravo | |
| N Jagadeesan | |
| Slots Left | 5 (2 foreign) |
| Purse remaining | ₹ 14.60 Crore |
5 Players CSK should Buy at IPL Actions 2020
The Chennai Super Kings released 6 players while being able to retain players who contributed to their run to the IPL 13 finals. All-rounders Chaitanya Bishnoi, Scott Kuggeleijn, David Willey, fast bowler Mohit Sharma, wicketkeeper Sam Billings and Dhruv Shorey have been released. They did not move for any player in the trading window.
MSD and Coach Fleming will now look to bid on some quality players in the IPL 2020 Auction. They will be able to buy 5 players with a maximum of two foreign players. Here are the five players they will look to buy:
1. Jaydev Unakdat
CSK have been chasing Jaydev Unakdat two years after his performances alongside Shardal Thakur for Pune Supergiants in 2017. CSK fought out for him against KXIP in 2018 and Rajasthan Royals in 2019. Both times they backed down. However, with Mohit Sharma now gone, Unakdat will be the Indian bowler CSK will go for.
In his IPL career, he has taken 77 wickets in 73 matches with an average of 28.46 and economy of 8.73. Jaydev Unakdat has a base price of Rs 1 Crore.
2. Yashasvi Jaiswal
The 18-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal will be on all of the team’s radars in the IPL 2020 auction. Jaiswal recently became the youngest batsman to score a List-A double Hundred. He scored 203 in 154 balls for Mumbai against Jharkhand. He showed an example of what he is capable of doing in T20’s as 140 runs came in boundaries (17×4, 12×6).
During the India U19 vs Afghanistan U19 ODI series, he scored 108* and 38*. With the ball, he picked two wickets and gave only 33 runs in 11.1 overs in the two games. Jaiswal has a base price of Rs 20 Lacs, but with the performances he has put in this season, MI will surely receive some challenge.
3. Tom Baton
Many franchises will be looking forward when the name Thomas Banton comes up in the auction, due to his performances in the Abu Dhabi T10 League and the Natwest T20 Blast. However, it is expected MI and CSK will go head to head to bid on the English wicketkeeper considering they had enquired about him.
Baton will provide to CSK as a wicket-keeping alternative to MSD. The 21-year-old has scored 623 runs in 20 T20s with an average of 34.89 and a strike rate of 156.36. For England, he has played three T20Is in which he has scored 56 runs at a strike rate of 164.70. Banton’s base price is at Rs 1 crore.
4. Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi will be a smart buy for CSK considering the fitness concerns of Kedar Jadav. Tripathi showed up on the IPL stage in 2017 with the Rising Pune Supergiants. Since then the right-handed opener has scored 758 runs in 33 matches at an average of 25.14 and strike rate of 134.
In IPL 2019, Tripathi scored 141 runs in 8 matches with an average of 23.50 and strike rate of 119.49. He also scored the half-century. Tripathi is priced at Rs 20 Lakhs.
5. Shahrukh Khan
24-year-old Shahrukh Khan is a local talent that CSK would want to invest in. He has impressed with his all-around abilities in the white ball season. While his performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali was not much impressive, he did put up a show in the Vijay Hazare tournament.
Shahrukh scored 244 runs at an average of 48.80 and a strike rate of 125.77. He scored half-centuries, of which one came in the semi-finals against Gujarat. Shahrukh’s unbeaten 56 of 45 balls helped Tamil Nadu to the finals. The all-rounder is priced at Rs 20 lakhs.
