IPL 2019: 3 areas that CSK need to address during the IPL auction

The searing excitement of IPL is getting to the headlines as we are not far away from the trade/release deadlines and the auction dates. If reports are meant to be true, the 2019 IPL Auction will take place in mid-December with Jaipur being the reported venue.

The 2019 IPL auction will be a sort of minor restructuring phase for the respective franchises ahead of the upcoming edition of IPL. The trades/releases taking place will also play a good part in the teams' strategies at the 2019 IPL auction.

A purse of INR 3 Crore, along with the unspent amount from the previous IPL auction, will be available to all the eight franchises. Thus, each piece would have to spend their amounts judiciously while restructuring their squad in the 2019 IPL auction.

Chennai Super Kings made a fairy-tale comeback to the extravagant league as they clinched the IPL title for the record third time in the history of the league while equaling their rival Mumbai Indians' tally.

CSK had a reasonably decent squad with minimal loopholes. Chennai rarely seemed to commit mistakes in their tourney of IPL 2018. However, there remain a few bottlenecks that CSK would look to remove in the 2019 IPL auction. Although these bottlenecks aren't expected to cause much damage to Chennai, the franchise will unquestionably look to keep them updated while making them much more accountable against these problems.

Thus, in this feature, we will have a look at three areas that Chennai Super Kings will need to address in the 2019 IPL auction.

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#1 Pace department

CSK will look to add experienced pace bowlers in their squad

One department that looked in splits for CSK in IPL 2018 was their pace department, especially the Indian pace contingent. Unquestionably, with the likes of Lungi Ngidi of Deepak Chahar, Chennai fared decently in their bowling department. However, on quite a few occasions, the absence of experienced fast bowlers put CSK slightly on a weaker side in the bowling department.

Nonetheless, with Dhoni's astute use of his bowlers, CSK managed to reel through that problem. Moreover, CSK also handed us a new sensation in the name of Deepak Chahar.

Although for the time being Chennai's bowling attack looks good to go, there remain a few block holes that CSK would hope to fill in the upcoming auction. Unquestionably, while going into the 2019 IPL auction, Chennai would be adding one or two experienced pace bowlers in their squad.

The addition could be of a 1+1 sort: one experienced Indian fast bowler and one experienced overseas fast bowler. This sort of combination will make CSK much more accountable in their bowling department while making them much more robust in foreign states (if ever IPL shifts to South Africa). Another combination could be of 2 + 0 as well or say 1 + 0: one or two experienced Indian fast bowlers - keeping Lungi Ngidi in mind.

Thus, the pace department will surely be one of the areas that CSK will need to address in the upcoming IPL auction.

#2 Backup options in case of injuries

Deepak Chahar had to miss some matches in IPL 2018 due to an injury

Another area that CSK will need to address in the approaching IPL auction is their deficit of backup options in case of injuries to their experienced players. While banking upon experience, Chennai included a lot of players who are nearing retirement or have already retired from international cricket. Moreover, Chennai does incorporate some of the injury-prone cricketers where a backup option will always be appreciated.

One such instance where CSK encountered the same situation was in IPL 2018 where Deepak Chahar got caught up with an injury which did affect CSK in the intermediate phase of the tournament. Moreover, Bravo has been on the same lines who have confronted injuries quite a few times in the recent past.

Thus, while going into the auctions, Chennai will surely keep specific backup options in their mind which would aid them in case of injuries or even while resting some of their premier players after few games.

#3 Leg spinner

Will CSK go forward with Imran Tahir in IPL 2019 as well?

Leg spinners have been a great entity when it comes to the limited overs format, especially in T20 cricket. Leggies instil a great sense of variety in a team's overall combination. Besides, if IPL is the case, the argument has much more weight.

Although Chennai had two of them (Imran Tahir and Karn Sharma), CSK didn't benefit considerably from these two as they played just six matches a piece in the league. The possible reason for Imran Tahir's under-usage was him being an overseas player.

Being a foreign player in IPL puts an added responsibility on you as you are expected to perform consistently in the wake of fierce competition. Unquestionably, the added pressure took a toll on Tahir as he failed to deliver the goods that CSK ordered. As a result, Karn Sharma got a place in the playing XI as Tahir's replacement. However, Karn performed on the same lines.

Thus, Chennai would certainly tick a few leg-spinners in their list while going into the 2019 IPL auction.