'Not many gaps to fill’: Gautam Gambhir explains CSK's ideal strategy ahead of IPL 2021 auction

Gambhir said that there aren’t many gaps to fill for CSK as they have simplified their task ahead of the auction by retaining their core group

The dates for the Indian Premier League 2021 are yet be announced but the buzz around it has already begun. All the eight franchises will be up in the much-awaited players' auction which will take place on Thursday in Chennai.

Photo of Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Twitter)

Meanwhile, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has suggested a couple of picks for MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) which had a horrific season in 2020. After finishing seventh in the league stage, the franchise released some big-ticket players like Harbhajan Singh, Kedar Jadhav and Piyush Chawla ahead of the upcoming season.

While speaking on Star Sports network, Gambhir said that there aren’t many gaps to fill for CSK as they have simplified their task ahead of the auction by retaining their core group first and then having Robin Uthappa from Rajasthan Royals through the trade window.

“Not many (gaps to fill). Despite having not the best season last time around, I think, they still have a strong core. Suresh Raina has come back now, Robin Uthappa – they have traded from Rajasthan Royals, obviously, their batting looks very strong at the moment which was a bit of a mess in the last season.

“So, with the experience of Raina, Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni, they have got a strong Indian batting line-up,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.

“Their core is still intact. They have got Ravindra Jadeja, they’ve got Dwayne Bravo who has been there for such a long time. So probably, they will look at someone like K Gowtham as an off-spinner because they have let go of Harbhajan Singh. And a back-up of Bravo, because MS believes a lot in all-rounders with the kind of surface they play on.

“Whether Bravo can play all the games and he’s not getting any younger. And at the same time, an Indian seamer, so it could be Umesh Yadav as well.

“So, once they have Umesh and Deepak Chahar and then they’ve got a backup, for someone like Dwayne Bravo could be Chris Morris and K Gowtham.

“So, they don’t need to fill a lot of gaps because they have got Robin Uthappa. They can open the batting with Faf du Plessis and Robin, with Raina at No. 3, Rayudu at No. 4 and MS at 5. Plus, Bravo, Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja… they have got so much depth

“So they can have someone like Morris or Kyle Jamieson in place of Bravo, that'll be a fabulous team actually,” Gambhir concluded.

CSK will head into the auction with a purse of ₹22.9 crore, which they need to use to fill seven domestic and one overseas slot.