Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra feels that five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are well placed above their rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. MS Dhoni-led side have a solid unit going into the next season despite letting go of the England all-rounder Ben Stokes ahead of the auction.
Chennai Super Kings released as many as eight players on Sunday ahead of the IPL 2024 retention deadline day. After winning the IPL 2023, MS Dhoni delivered a sweet announcement that resonated with his followers and the cricketing fans and they have enough purses to get back quality players in the forthcoming IPL auction.
In a video posted on his YouTube Channel, Aakash Chopra was asked to rate CSK, MI, and RCB ahead of the auction, the former Indian cricketer believes that Chennai Super Kings were the best placed heading into the auction pool, with a lot of money being left with them and named the potential players, who can be picked by the five-time champions in the auction.
“I feel Chennai are the best placed. They were last season’s champions. They have a lot of money and they don’t need to buy too many players. Ben Stokes and Ambati Rayudu left and suddenly you got a lot of money available.”
“Mukesh Choudhary is back available again. They can buy whoever they want because they have a lot of money. The team is looking extremely strong. I feel they will look towards one or two Indian batters. They might take Shahrukh Khan, Manish Pandey, or Karun Nair,” Aakash Chopra said.
Before the auction, the Chennai-based franchise has released two big players ahead of the auction, with Ben Stokes and Ambati Rayudu being unavailable for the team They have a budget of 31.40 crores and can sign up a maximum of six players, three of whom must be foreigners, with a lot of quality players being available in the market.
MS Dhoni Is An Amazing Player And A Fantastic Captain – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra stated that MS Dhoni is one of the valuable assets for the Chennai Super Kings heading into the 2024 season and believes that the defending Champions need some quality bowlers. The cricketer-turned-commentator believes that RCB and MI have certain openings to fill and that they may not have enough money to acquire the major players in the auction pool.
“Then they will need some fast bowlers. They will get that. In any case, you say about Dhoni – ‘Want to become a batter or a bowler, I will get that done’. He is an amazing player and a fantastic captain.”
“So, in my opinion, Chennai are better placed than the others because both RCB and MI have to do shopping, especially in the bowling department, and they don’t have as much money as they should have had. They could have had more money, but unfortunately, they don’t,” Aakash Chopra added.
Every year, the IPL auction gives franchises the opportunity to fine-tune their squad to achieve the desired outcomes on the field. The IPL 2024 player auction will be held on December 19 in Dubai. This is the first time the cash-rich T20 league’s auction has been staged outside of India.