Couldn’t go all out for Ashwin: CSK
BANGALORE: Before they were suspended, CSK were known to be masters of the IPL auction. They had cracked the formula in the very opening edition, assembling a crack side that dominated under MS Dhoni. For them, the focus is on building the team around a core of Indian players.
They have stuck to the strategy on return after a two-year ban. It though remains to be seen whether it would work like it used to. Building on the advantage of being allowed to retain their core group of Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, they added Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Karn Sharma and Harbhajan Singh — all proven performers. Among their foreign picks they have got back old hands Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plessis and Dhoni’s personal favourite leggie Imran Tahir.
The only doubt about CSK is whether the players will be agile enough with most of them in their 30s. But CSK coach Stephen Fleming said: “We have valued experience. MS and I are on the same page. There is room for young players, but we’re going for experience now,” said the former New Zealand skipper.
“We’ve a multi-skilled team. It’s also spin-dominated. The trend is to have wrist spinners and we have embraced that.”
On expected lines, CSK didn’t go big on R Ashwin, instead opting for Harbhajan Singh, 37.
“We picked Harbhajan because Ashwin was going to go for a high price. We just chose a different direction. Sometimes, you have to put a price on people’s heads. It’s hard when you’re working your budget early.”
RR also stuck to their style. It was more about dynamism and talent than big names. After making a surprising splash buying Ben Stokes, they got Ajinkya Rahane cheap, for ~4 crore. Sanju Samson and Stuart Binny too were bought to ensure four of the nine players bought so far have played for RR.
RR CEO Ranjit Barthakur said: “As far as we are concerned, the ECB has cleared Stokes for auction; he’s legally available, therefore we’ve bid for him. He’s a very important part.
“An all-rounder is absolutely important. Unlike others, we do not have many players for retention. Our favourite blue-blooded player is Ajinkya. So we retained him with a Right-to-match card.
“Stokes would have been equal to anyone we’d have had, had we retained any other player. In a start-up mode, we’re trying to invest up front and in the first half of the auction process, most of the star players seem to be there. Therefore we’re investing. There’s no change in strategy.”