Murali Vijay, who wasn't retained by Kings XI Punjab during the IPL auction in January 2018, was roped in by his former franchise Chennai Super Kings at his base price of INR 2 crores. After being released by CSK in 2014, Vijay played for Delhi Daredevils in the seventh edition of IPL and followed it with a two-year stint at Kings XI Punjab. While Vijay was a force to reckon with for CSK, he failed to hit his top game for either DD or KXIP.
With his IPL team sorted for the next five seasons, Vijay is delighted with the prospect of sharing the dressing room with his mentor and beloved captain MS Dhoni once again. The right-hander, who has played a key role in securing two IPL titles for Chennai, is also excited to don the yellow jersey in the upcoming season.
In the build-up to IPL 2018, Vijay posted a tweet on his official Twitter page which reflects on his emotions to return back to the home-based franchise.
“#backinyellow. The colour that stimulates beautiful memories and encourages the soul to contribute to the one and only Namma CSK @ChennaiIPL Can’t wait to get started #whistlepodu #csk #IPL2018 #ShootDiaries,” Vijay wrote while taking part in a photo shoot organized by the Chennai franchise with teammate Ambati Rayudu.
#backinyellow. The colour that stimulates beautiful memories and encourages the soul to contribute to the one and only Namma CSK @ChennaiIPL ???????? Can’t wait to get started ???????? #whistlepodu #csk #IPL2018 #ShootDiaries pic.twitter.com/fuTWBSjoho
— Murali Vijay (@mvj888) March 9, 2018
CSK will make a return to the cash-rich league after completing the two-year termination. Chennai Super Kings along with Rajasthan Royals were barred from the IPL for the past two editions because of corruption and fixing allegations against their respective owners.
Chennai will start their IPL 2018 campaign against the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opening game of the season on April 7 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium.
Chennai Super Kings Squad:
MS Dhoni (retained 15 crore), Suresh Raina (retained, 11 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (retained 7 crore), Faf du Plessis (1.5 crore), Harbhajan Singh (2 crore), Dwayne Bravo (6.4 crore), Shane Watson (4 crore), Kedar Jadhav (7.8 crore), Ambati Rayudu (2.2 crore), Imran Tahir (1 crore), Karn Sharma (5 crore), Shardul Thakur (2.6 crore), Jagadeesan Narayan (20 lakh), Mitchell Santner (50 lakh), Deepak Chahar (80 lakh), KM Asif (40L), Lungi Ngidi (50 lakh), Kanishk Seth (20 lakh), Dhruv Shorey (20 lakh), M Vijay (2 crore), Sam Billings (1 crore), Mark Wood (1.5 crore), Kshitiz Sharma (20 lakh), Monu Singh (20 lakh), Chaitanya Bishnoi (20 lakh)
