Chennai Super Kings had a golden run in the recently concluded season of IPL in 2021. They had a spectacular redemption this season after having a horror show in the 2020 season where they finished at the bottom of the table. The team came together after a difficult season and combined forces to put up a spectacular turnaround. However, unfortunately, this team may not be able to stick around in the next season due to all players being released in the pool for the mega auction.
The BCCI has already announced the retention policy is finally out. After discussion with the existing franchises and the prospective ones, it has been decided each franchise can retain 3 Indian players and 2 foreign players. However, the upper cap for retention has been fixed at 4 so therefore, a franchise can maximum retain 4 players in the stated permutation combination.
It will be extremely exciting to see how Chennai Super Kings goes with retaining its players. It has an excellent mix of Indian and foreign players. We look at 5 players off which they can make the final retention.
1. Ravindra Jadeja
Not many people would think of Jaddu as their first retention but it makes perfect cricketing sense to retain Jadeja as the first cricketer to retain. The 34-year-old is a versatile cricketer who can play both with the bat and with the ball. The left-handed cricketer has 124 IPL wickets to his name, with an economy rate of 7.59. He also has accumulated more than 2300 runs in 197 games. He’s developed into a terrific lower-order batsman. He could go on a lead CSK in the near future.
2. MS Dhoni
The management has already declared that Dhoni will be retained by CSK under whatever circumstances. The presence of the man who has delivered 4 IPL trophies and taken the team to finals a total of 9 times is non-negotiable. Dhoni’s overall charisma, ability to lead the team, strategize, win trophies and bring in the support and love of the fans makes him the single biggest asset of the franchise and as long as he is willing to play, CSK will retain him.
3. Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur is an understated talent in the IPL and does not receive the credit and appreciation he should be getting. His talent with the ball and bat has been a revelation in the last couple of years. His ability to bowl fast and swing the ball is rare. He can also tonk the ball a good distance and is technically a sound batsman. He is a perfect pace bowling all-rounder and such cricketers generally get the highest bids, case in point being Ben Stokes and Chris Morris. Chennai Super Kings will go out of their way to retain a special performer like Shardul Thakur.
4. Moeen Ali
Moeen Ali was a surprise pick by CSK in this year’s IPL but he ensured to repay the trust reposed in him by the team. in the 15 games he played for CSK this season, he scored an astonishing 357 runs at a strike rate close to 140 and also picked 6 wickets. His overall utility matches Jadeja’s and he can be superb foreign retention.
5. Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad was the find of this season and was awarded the Orange cap for the most number of runs scored. He became the youngest batsman to be awarded the honor. It was just last year that he had a horror show and was woefully out of form. However, the team stuck with him and it paid rich dividends. He scored a century, gave CSK the required starts, anchored the innings from one end, and accelerated with incredible composure. He is the future of the franchise and shall be retained by them for future nurturing.
