Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will look to bring back senior India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in their setup during the mega auction next month.
Ashwin’s name didn’t feature in Rajasthan Royals’ retention list, unveiled on Thursday (October 31). According to a TOI report, the off-spinner is on CSK’s radar.
Notably, Ashwin started off his IPL career at CSK in 2009 and played a key role in the team’s title wins in 2010 and 2011. He was associated with the Chenna-based franchise till 2015 before joining the now-defunct Rising Pune Super Giants, followed by stints with the Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals.
The report also claimed that the Super Kings will use Right To Match (RTM) option for New Zealand batter Devon Conway, who joined the franchise in 2022 and has scored 924 runs in 23 matches for them so far.
Besides Conway, CSK would like to buy back Kiwi all-rounders Rachin Ravindra and Mitchell Santner in the grand auction, along with Indian seam-bowling all-rounders -- Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur.
The retention list of CSK was headlined by the legendary MS Dhoni on the deadline day (October 31). The five-time champions used the uncapped player rule to retain the services of Dhoni for only INR 4 crore. Having last played for India in the 2019 World Cup, the 43-year-old fulfilled this criteria.
Apart from Dhoni, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (INR 18 crore), veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (INR 18 crore), swashbuckling left-hander Shivam Dube (INR 12 crore), and Sri Lankan pace sensation Matheesha Pathirana (INR 13 crore) featured in CSK’s retention lost.
By retaining the five players, CSK subtracted a total of INR 65 crore from their overall purse of INR 120 crore. They now have INR 55 crore left in their kitty for the mega auction, where they can use the RTM card to retain a removed player.
In the 2024 edition of IPL, CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs after losing the last league stage match against RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
