Suresh Raina will be the first guy CSK will go after in mega auction: Robin Uthappa

The IPL franchises were set with a deadline of December 30^th for naming their retention picks and by now, all the teams have cleared their lists. Talking around the developments of CSK, they chose to retain Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the same order.

However, by being only allowed to retain four picks, teams had to let go of many of their important players. In terms of CSK, they couldn’t retain their star batter Faf du Plessis and had to even lose veteran Suresh Raina. Talking in the same light, former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa added that Raina would be the first man CSK will go after.

Uthappa also stated that Raina has been an instrumental figure in the yellow camp and the team would be raring to get back his services despite a dismal run in IPL 2021. On the other hand, the former cricketer added that the Dhoni-led franchise went behind Ali as he provides service with both bat and bowl and unfortunately, it meant letting Faf go.

“Raina, I think is the biggest stalwart of CSK we’ve had. He’s been such an instrumental figure in helping CSK qualify to so many of the knockout stages in the last 10-12 years.”

Suresh Raina has been the vital cog in the wheel: Robin Uthappa

“He has been the vital cog in the wheel, so I think he will be the first guy they will go after. Having said that, it must have been really difficult to let go of Faf but, I think the only thing that pegged it towards Moeen Ali was the fact that he is a two-dimensional player, with both the skills, and unfortunately, they had to make that choice,” said Robin Uthappa on Star Sports.

The IPL 2022 mega auction is reported to take place between the end of December and January starting month and it remains to be seen which players will CSK try to get back in the lot. It is also being expected that this might be the last season for MS Dhoni in the IPL.