Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg has predicted that Chennai Super Kings under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni will surely secure a spot in the playoffs if they successfully acquire particular players during the Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction set to take place on Tuesday in Dubai.
The Chennai Super Kings have seen an increase in their budget after the release of Ben Stokes and Ambat Rayudu’s retirement from Indian cricket. However, this has created a kind of gap in the squad for the Chennai-based franchise.
The defending champions are primarily in need of an Indian middle-order batsman. Hogg said that Manish Pandey and Harshal Patel are the ideal choices for CSK due to their skillset and the playing conditions. The former Australia also backed them to go after New Zealand all-rounders Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell.
He asserted, “CSK will go hard after Harshal Patel and that is going to hurt RCB. Harshal Patel has the qualities needed to bowl on the Chennai wicket. If they get Manish Pandey, either one of Mitchell or Ravindra and Harshal Patel, CSK will be in the top three for sure in IPL 2024,” Hogg said on his YouTube channel.
He further added, “CSK need an Indian middle-order batter. Manish Pandey is the man for them. He is also a good fielder, but we have not seen the best of him and I think if he gets an opportunity with CSK and under the leadership of MS Dhoni, we will see the best of him again. I also think they need another option in the middle order and they can go after Mitchell, but I don’t think they will get him. I think they will go with Ravindra.”
For the IPL mini-auction, CSK has a purse of INR 31.40 crore.
