IPL 2021 auction – CSK purse remaining and players it can sign at IPL auctions: Chennai Super Kings in the quest of revamping its squad, released six players — Kedar Jadhav, Murali Vijay, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Monu Singh, Shane Watson (retired). They are now left with 18 players out of which seven are overseas. At the upcoming IPL 2021 auctions which will reportedly be held on February 18, CSK will eye some big names to fill the void left by Watson in the top order, and Piyush Chawla in the spin department. The three-time champions will also look to invest in some young legs.
IPL 2021 auction: CSK purse remaining and no.of available slots.
After releasing six players, CSK have added Rs 22.9 cr to its kitty. The Chennai-based side has seven slots including one overseas slot available to fill.
| Franchise | No of Players | No of Overseas Players | Total money spent (Rs.) | Salary cap available (Rs.) | Available Slots | Overseas Slots | |
| CSK | 18 | 7 | 62.1 | 22.9 | 7 | 1 | |
IPL 2021 auction: 2 Players on CSK’s radar
Steve Smith:
The three-time IPL champions CSK has released a host of batsmen in the likes of Murali Vijay, Harbhajan Singh, and Kedhar Jadhav. It obvious the MS Dhoni-led franchise would go for an overhaul and shed its ‘Dads Army’ image after a terrible IPL 2020 season. And with a remaining purse of Rs 22.9 crore, it will want Smith to don the yellow jersey in the upcoming season.
Stephen Fleming, Dhoni and Smith have earlier played together as part of the Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016 and 17 season. While Dhoni-led the side in the first season, the captaincy was handed to Smith in the second season of the franchise.
The former Australian skipper had a great season with now-defunct IPL team, guiding it to the finals where it lost to Mumbai Indians by 1 run.
Dhoni would be keen to have his former teammate back with him and probably see a smooth transition of handing the captain’s cap to Smith.
Dawid Malan: Who wouldn’t want World’s No.1 T20 batsman in their side? Even if CSK fails to get Steve Smith, they would like to get Malan in their squad. Just like Smith, he can bat at No.3 and also as an opener. Also, him being left-handed will be a big advantage for Chennai. If CSK manage to get both Smith and Malan, they would probably be the most ruthless batting side.
CSK Retained Players: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, Josh Hazlewood, R Sai Kishore