Brand new auction but the same old Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Record-time winners, CSK had most of their basses covered when the upper echelons of MS Dhoni's Yellow Brigade went shopping in Dubai on Tuesday. Defending champions in the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Dhoni's CSK have furnished their final squad by roping in some noteworthy players at the mini-auction. The Super Kings missed out on signing Mumbai Indians-bound Gerald Coetzee while Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated them to seal a bumper IPL deal for Alzarri Joseph.
But CSK have found Ambati Rayudu's replacement for IPL 2024 as they acquired the services of uncapped big-hitter Sameer Rizvi. New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra turned out to be a bargain buy for CSK at the IPL. The New Zealander has joined Dhoni and Co. for INR 1.8 crore at the IPL 2024 mini-auction. Besides landing the 2023 World Cup breakout star, Dhoni's CSK also opted to spend heavily for Daryl Mitchell. Chennai released Ben Stokes and replaced the Englishman with Kiwi all-rounder Mitchell by placing the winning bid of INR 14 crore at the mini-auction.
Die-hard RCB fan wants Dhoni to join RCB
Speaking at the auction press conference in Dubai, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming issued a compelling statement when the ex-New Zealand skipper was quizzed about the succession plan for Dhoni. Interestingly, Dhoni himself received a polite enquiry from a fan, who wanted the CSK skipper to join forces with Virat Kohli at RCB. “I’ve been a die-hard RCB fan for 16 years and like the way you’ve won five titles for CSK, I want you to come support us and win one trophy for us,” the fan asked Dhoni during an interaction.
Thala Dhoni fires internet-breaking reply
{{/usCountry}}Speaking at the auction press conference in Dubai, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming issued a compelling statement when the ex-New Zealand skipper was quizzed about the succession plan for Dhoni. Interestingly, Dhoni himself received a polite enquiry from a fan, who wanted the CSK skipper to join forces with Virat Kohli at RCB. “I’ve been a die-hard RCB fan for 16 years and like the way you’ve won five titles for CSK, I want you to come support us and win one trophy for us,” the fan asked Dhoni during an interaction.
Thala Dhoni fires internet-breaking reply
{{/usCountry}}Dhoni was graceful enough with his explanation. The CSK skipper opined that RCB have assembled a good team for the cash-rich league. "You know. They (RCB) are a very good team. Also, what you need to see is in cricket everything doesn't go according to plan. If you talking about the IPL. All the 10 teams in the IPL, if they have full players, all of them are very strong teams. The problem arises if you are missing a few players because of injury. So, they are a very good team and everyone has a fair chance in IPL. As of now, I have so many things to worry about in my team. I would like to wish every team all the very best, but more than that, I can't do much as of now. Imagine me coming out of the way to support or help some other team. How will our fans feel?" Dhoni responded.
CSK's star-studded squad for IPL 2024
The most capped player in the history of IPL, Dhoni will lead CSK in their title-defending season next year. CSK's 25-member squad for IPL 2024 features eight overseas players. The five-time winners bought Rachin (INR 1.8 crore), Shardul Thakur (INR 4 crore), Mitchell (INR 14 crore), Rizvi (INR 8.4 crore) and Mustafizur Rahman (INR 2 crore) at the mini-auction in Dubai. CSK retained skipper Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Maheesh Theekshana, Mitchell Santner and Ajinkya Rahane ahead of the new season.