IPL 2019: 5 Players CSK could've released ahead of the auction

The Chennai Super Kings led by MS Dhoni made a resounding comeback to the fray of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the last season. They won the title for the third time famously and the side did so having most of the players aged above 30 highlighting the importance of experienced players in the shortest format of the game. Even this time around, the franchise have decided to retain most cricketers from their squad. CSK is the only team to have retained as many as 23 players out of the 26 they had in their set-up for the previous edition. They decided to release Mark Wood, Kanishk Seth and Kshitiz Sharma who didn’t have much to offer during their triumphant season. At the moment, the Men in Yellow only have two slots for the Indian players and have exhausted their overseas quota with Rs 8.40 Crore in the purse left. Effectively, they won’t be bidding on many of the players during the auction. With uncertainty revolving around on many of the retained players including MS Dhoni on a long-term basis, they should’ve released a few of them and looked to build the team for the future. Here we bring you the list of five players who they could’ve released: 1. Harbhajan Singh Harbhajan Singh of Chennai Super Kings. (Photo by IANS) The veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh doesn’t play much cricket these days and prefers playing only in the IPL. It was surprising that the franchise decided to retain him as he couldn’t pick wickets at a regular basis like he used to during the early part of his career. Bhajji is also into commentary and match analysis now and might consider quitting the game after the upcoming season. Also, with the likes of Mitchell Santner and Karn Sharma already in the squad, he might not play majority of the matches next year. Keeping this in mind, the franchise could’ve let go the offie and invested in some other spinners who will go under the hammer next month. Harbhajan played 13 matches for CSK this year and scalped only seven wickets conceding runs at an economy rate of 8.58. 2. KM Asif Chennai Super King. (Photo by IANS) Born and brought up in Kerala, KM Asif is a strongly built personality and is known for his express pace. But when he was given the opportunity to prove his mettle, Asif went for a plethora of runs. In two matches, the 25-year-old could bowl a total of six overs and conceded 75 runs picking three wickets. Despite picking wickets, the youngster failed to keep a lid on the run-scoring of the opposition. Also, MS Dhoni likes to play with a settled side which means he will seldom get another chance when the CSK will begin their title defence next year. Releasing him would’ve been a better option for both the parties as the talented bowler could get more matches with the other teams if he gets picked. 3. David Willey CSK Player David Willey (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) David Willey, in the early part of his career, made a name for himself as a very good bowler. He is also the part of England’s limited-overs plans and will most probably make it to the World Cup squad. His batting is also a huge asset with the left-hander striking at 142 per 100 balls in 164 T20s he has played thus far. But after coming in as a replacement for Kedar Jadhav in the IPL, Willey couldn’t make the most of his opportunities. In the three matches which he played in the yellow jersey, the 28-year-old scalped only a couple of wickets and failed to live up to the expectations. He also conceded 95 runs in the 10 overs he bowled across these games which proves that the pace bowler couldn’t even complete his quota of overs. Moreover, his services with the bat weren’t required with a power-packed batting line-up of CSK. 4. Murali Vijay Suresh Raina & Murali Vijay. (Photo Source: Twitter) Murali Vijay‘s name might surprise a few here. He was the vital cog of the franchise only a few years ago and has also scored a century in the final one of their triumphant seasons. But in the last couple of years, he has turned into a specialist Test player and has done extremely well in that format. However, in the process, Vijay has lost his sheen in the shortest format and though the franchise picked him for his base price of Rs 2 Crore, they didn’t find a permanent place for him in the playing XI. He only got a solitary game to showcase his skills and even then the opener botched up that opportunity mustering only 12 runs. With most of the players retained by the CSK, he will have to warm the bench once again next season and it would’ve been better if they would’ve released him. Things have changed dramatically for him despite scoring 453 runs in 16 matches during the 2016 season for the Kings XI Punjab. 5. Imran Tahir Imran Tahir of CSK celebrates. (Photo Source: Twitter) The leg-spinners have generally played a crucial role for their teams in the T20s. But Imran Tahir could make the most of this chance after rocking the stage for the now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017 with 18 wickets in 12 matches. In the previous season, the 39-year-old played only six matches in the yellow jersey and scalped as many wickets conceding 9.09 runs per over which is too expensive. With the age not on his side, the South African leggie might not be the man to invest in going forward and instead, the CSK management could have saved the purse for the auction. Also, Karn Sharma is in the side who can play most of the matches being the economical bowler of the two. Retaining Tahir might turn out to be the blunder from the franchise and it remains to be seen how many matches he plays under MS Dhoni next year.

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IPL 2019: 5 Players CSK could've released ahead of the auction

Releasing these players would've given the 2018 Champions a chance to build a team for the future.

2. KM Asif

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