File image of Irfan Pathan© Instagram
Chennai Super Kings will be going to the mini auctions for the upcoming edition of IPL with a hefty purse of 32.1 crore. The defending champions released England all-rounder Ben Stokes, whom they had acquired for Rs 16.25 crores, ahead of the auctions. The MS Dhoni-led side will also look to target some great bowlers as they have released the likes of Sisanda Magala, Dwaine Pretorius. As all the teams are set to strengthen their squads before the 17the edition of IPL, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan came up with an advice for CSK.
Irfan stated that the five-time champions should go for pacer Harshal Patel, who has been released by Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“They have a lot of fast bowlers who can get injured regularly, guys like Deepak Chahar. They keep a lot of faith in Deepak Chahar but if he is not fit and available, they can be in a mess. So what they need – maybe a guy like Harshal Patel. Bangalore is not far from there, so just get Harshal Patel with a small ride of five hours, and just get him in CSK,” Pathan said on Star Sports.
Irfan also stated that CSK also needs a good batter in their top-order as they cannot fully rely on Ajinkya Rahane.
“Ajinkya Rahane started playing for CSK on the Wankhede pitch. That was his first game and he did really well. After that, he kept his momentum going forward. But they are aware that he is slightly restricted when it comes to slow pitches. So they would want to have a backup for him as well. You need to understand that MS Dhoni is not at his peak and he used to bat at No. 8 regularly,” said Irfan.
“Everyone wanted MS Dhoni to bat up the order but he didn’t. Even Dhoni knows that he is not young anymore. So they definitely need a replacement for Ambati Rayudu but they need a good No. 3 batter as well,” he added.
The IPL 2023 auction are slated to take place on December 19 in Mumbai.
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