In an exclusive interview with on the fringes of the upcoming Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2024, Harbhajan Singh listed four players that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) may keep ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 big auction. In the franchise league, the renowned off-spinner is presently captain of the Manipal Tigers, the reigning champions.
The four players that the Men in Yellow may be able to hold onto before the big auction are MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, and Maheesh Theekshana, according to Harbhajan, who played two seasons with CSK and won the IPL in 2018.
The new retention policy was introduced last week by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). A franchise is permitted to keep up to six players, according to the Board. There is one uncapped player and five capped players. Dhoni, who resigned from international cricket in August 2020, is eligible to play as an uncapped player because the door has been left open for him. Rather than the INR 12 crore he was required to receive before to the 2022 auctions, he will only receive INR 4 crore.
Before the 2024 IPL, Dhoni gave Gaikwad the captaincy of CSK. With the right-handed hitter leading the team, the Chennai-based team appeared to be headed for the postseason. They were forced to settle for fifth place, nevertheless.
Since Ravindra Jadeja has been a crucial member of the five-time champions for a number of years, Harbhajan’s decision to include his name among CSK’s potential retainers didn’t come as a surprise. Maheesh Theekshana, the mystery spinner from Sri Lanka, wasn’t particularly successful in the IPL last season, thus Harbhajan made an odd choice in selecting him.
In the IPL 2024, how did Harbhajan Singh’s selections fare?
Dhoni adopted a position in the team where he would aim to score as many runs as possible at the end of CSK’s innings while facing little deliveries. The Ranchi native crushed 161 runs at an average of 53.67 during the season, registering an astounding strike rate of 220.55.
Gaikwad, meanwhile, took the lead as he finished the season with 583 runs at a 53 average and a 141.16 strike rate. After Virat Kohli, he finished as the second-highest run scorer in the IPL 2024 with four half-centuries and one century.
In the IPL 2024, Jadeja was more useful with the bat than the ball. With a strike rate of 142.78 and an average of 44.50, the Saurashtra all-rounder scored 267 runs. In the meanwhile, he averaged 46.13 while taking eight wickets with the ball.
Also Read: IPL 2025: Ajay Jadeja predicts CSK’s retentions ahead of mega auction
In the IPL 2024, Theekshana only participated in five games for the Men in Yellow. Only two wickets at a pitiful average of 72 could be claimed by him. His best economy rate during a specific IPL season was a respectable 7.20, though.
India
