Rajasthan Royals made the first trade of the pre-IPL 2021 auction, as they traded their opener Robin Uthappa to Chennai Super Kings in an all-cash deal, reported Cricbuzz.
The 35-year-old has previously played for Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pune Warriors, and Kolkata Knight Riders before he was signed by the Royals last year for INR 3 crore.
"I really enjoyed my year at the Royals and had a great time being part of this franchise. I am now excited for the next part of my cricketing journey joining CSK for IPL 2021," Uthappa was quoted as saying in a Rajasthan Royals media release on Thursday (January 21).
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Uthappa has played 189 games featuring in all IPL seasons since 2008, making 4607 runs at a strike-rate of 129.99. He also made 24 fifties and won the Orange Cap in IPL 2014, helping KKR win their second title with 660 runs in the edition.
However, the last two seasons have been a huge downer for the former Karnataka batsman. He scored only 282 runs at 115.1 SR in 2019 and was released by the Knight Riders. And then in IPL 2020, he managed only 196 runs at 119.51 SR from 12 games for Royals.
"We'd like to thank Robbie for his contribution during his time with us. He provided significant value building into the season in our camps in Guwahati and Nagpur, and his speech during our World Cup winners session during the season was one of the most powerful we have heard,” Royals CEO Jake Lush McCrum said.
"We do have depth with regards to openers in our squad, therefore when the offer came from CSK, we thought it was a good opportunity for all parties involved. We'd like to wish Robbie all the best for this season at CSK and his future beyond that,” he added.
(Cricbuzz inputs)
