IPL 2018 is going to be one historic season with all sides going a major transition with respect to their core set of players, as the initial 10 year contract ran out at the end of the last season.
Advertisement
With the IPL governing body deciding to give franchises the chance to retain a few players, a lot of your favourite players could still be playing for the franchise you support, but with respect to all the players who are going to participate in the event, that number is pretty small.
CS fans though wouldn’t mind any of this, as they get to see their hero return, with MS Dhoni being the first player who was retained by the Chennai franchise. Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja were the two other players retained by the franchise.
Having retained 3 Indian capped players in the ‘IPL Retention special’, CSK can now use only 2 RTM cards in the auction, and will only be able to use it on foreign players, hence ruling Ashwin out.
But Dhoni in an event today confirmed that CSK will be going all out for Ashwin in the IPL auction, which is scheduled on the 27th and 28th of January.
“As I have said it is always a tough call. With Ashwin, you know we had done the same thing in the past. We will definitely go for him (Ashwin) in the auction. Ashwin definitely being a local lad, we want a lot of local players to be part of CSK,” Dhoni said at a promotional event for India Cements.
“We have two right-to-match options but having already retained three capped Indians, don’t think we can use it. We will have to buy him out in the auction. As of now, it is tough to say, we will get him or him or him,”
“Ashwin will come first in the auction for us. But we will have to wait and watch. We will try to get him,” he added.
Dhoni then went onto say that CSK will have to be very wise with their auction strategy and not let emotions get the better of them.
“We have made three retentions. One keeper, two batsmen. Two batsmen that can bowl. As of now it is very difficult to say whom we will get. That is the adaptability factor that we need at the auction table and we need to keep emotions in check,” he said.
The former Indian skipper then spoke about how the fans have been extremely supportive of the franchise and have always formed the backbone of the emotion that is ‘Chennai Super Kings’.
“Our biggest strength has always been the fans. All over wherever we have gone, CSK has got support. Even when we did not play in the IPL in the last two years, the fan base increased.
“There is a lot of excitement among fans about the fact that CSK is back. The fans have over here have literally adopted me, they accept me as their own. I am touched by the admiration and ovation I receive from CSK fans, which will always remain close to my heart,” Dhoni concluded.
