Former Indian player Aakash Chopra recently analyzed all the IPL teams ahead of the mega auction. With two new teams likely to be introduced next year, BCCI will conduct a mega auction in 2022 to give each team a fair chance at building their squad from the scratch.
Talking about three-time champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Chopra said MS Dhoni will be the first player to be retained by the franchise irrespective of his age. However, Akash Chopra feels that the CSK skipper himself will not be keen on this idea. Dhoni has only a few years of cricket left in him reckons Akash Chopra.
CSK will be fine if there are no retentions – Aakash Chopra
Dhoni has been with the Chennai Super Kings franchise for 12 seasons that they have been part of the IPL. He has led CSK in all 12 seasons and has captained them to three titles. He has been synonymous with CSK’s success in the tournament and is unlikely to be let go of by the franchise despite his price tag. The 39-year-old had retired from international cricket last year.
“Chennai Super Kings will have MS Dhoni at the first number of course and they will do that as well. But if you ask Dhoni, he might himself say why they are retaining him because he may not be there for three years and why they want to block so much money on him. But then, that’s how it is going to be. CSK and MS Dhoni are pretty much one and the same thing,” Chopra said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
Aakash Chopra said CSK should retain all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja apart from MS Dhoni and also look at using the RTM for pacer Deepak Chahar.
“If there is a new rule that there are no retentions, CSK will say they are absolutely fine, and that they will start from scratch because they don’t have players to block 15-17 crores,” said Aakash Chopra.