Legendary Batsman Sunil Gavaskar said that Chennai Super Kings(CSK) will possibly bid for Rachin Ravindra at the IPL 2024 auction but may not go all out for him. Rachin Ravindra had a dream ODI WC 2023 where he performed in all the 3 facets of the game and was quite exceptional with the bat in hand.
Chennai have a purse of 31.4 crores going into the auction and a maximum of six slots available with 3 of them being overseas slots. CSK released Ben Stokes who was their big buy from the previous auction and will be looking for a good replacement for him. CSK also released overseas allrounders Kyle Jamieson and Dwaine Pretorius ahead of the auction and might look for some all-rounders for the overseas picks.
CSK won’t be desperate for Rachin Ravindra- Sunil Gavaskar
During a discussion on Star Sports on the IPL 2024 auction, Sunil Gavaskar answered the question of whether CSK will try to buy Rachin Ravindra or not. Gavaskar said,
“I don’t think they will go for him because they have options. As you said, they have Moeen Ali who can play at No. 3. They also have Mitchell Santner as a bowler. They will come in the bidding but they won’t be desperate for Rachin Ravindra,” said Sunil Gavaskar.
Rachin Ravindra finished the ODI WC 2023 tournament as the fourth-highest run-scorer, scoring 578 runs in 10 innings at an average of 64.22 and a strike rate of 106.44 which includes 3 centuries. He also picked up five wickets at a decent economy rate of 5.98 and could be handy on the usually spin-friendly tracks in Chepauk.
CSK’s issues are with their injury-prone fast bowlers- Irfan Pathan points out CSK’s need for backup pacers
Former Indian All-rounder Irfan Pathan when further asked about potential players Chennai might look to pick at the auction replied,
“What all things do Chennai Super Kings need to keep in mind? Firstly, they have had a lot of problems with injured fast bowlers. Mukesh (Choudhary) had that problem and that is why he missed the IPL,” said Irfan Pathan.
Irfan says that CSK’s pacers have been injury-prone and they will be looking to address that problem. Explaining further he said,
“Deepak (Chahar) has had that problem. He gets injured regularly. So you would need a backup for him. (Matheesha) Pathirana has also had that problem. So you would want a backup for him as well,” he stated.
Irfan said CSK can go for Harshal Patel who can be deceptive with slower balls and cutters at the Chepauk which will allow them to play an overseas batter in the middle. Irfan elaborated,
“If they can get a good Indian fast bowler, they can play an additional overseas batter. I am thinking that supposedly if they get Harshal Patel, they can leave out Pathirana, make Harshal Patel a part of the playing XI, and play a batter like Daryl Mitchell in the middle order,” he added.
Irfan has explained that this move can fill the gap Ambati Rayudu left and a good spin player like Daryl Mitchell could be a good replacement for him with all his experience and his ability to play aggressively.