CSK pick up Shardul Thakur for ₹4 crore, Rachin Ravindra for ₹1.8 crore at IPL 2024 auction

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) purchased all-rounders Shardul Thakur and Rachin Ravindra for ₹4 crore and ₹1.8 crore, respectively at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction in Dubai on Tuesday, December 19.

Ravindra entered the auction at a base price of ₹50 lakh. The bidding began with Chennai and Delhi Capitals (DC) entering the fray. Punjab Kings (PBKS) also entered the bidding only to pull out later. Eventually, the left-handed batter went to CSK for ₹1.8 crore.

24-year-old Ravindra had a superb 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, scoring 578 runs in 10 matches at an average of 64.22 and a strike rate of 106.44 with three hundreds and two fifties. He began the World Cup with 123* in the opening match against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and kept growing in confidence from there.

Apart from his batting exploits, the Kiwi cricketer is also a useful left-arm spinner. He has picked up 41 wickets in 53 T20s at an average of 26.92 and an economy rate of 7.45. Ravindra had played 18 T20Is for New Zealand, scoring 145 runs and claiming 11 scalps.

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Shardul Thakur returns to CSK

After Ravindra, Chennai Super Kings also purchased Indian all-rounder Thakur for ₹4 crore. He entered the auction at a base price of ₹2 crore. SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) joined the bidding briefly, but did not push too hard. CSK thus got their second player of the auction in Thakur.

IPL 2024 Auction: Live Blog

The 32-year-old was part of the Chennai franchise from 2018 to 2021. The right-arm pacer was one of the star performers for CSK when the won the IPL in 2021. Thakur claimed 21 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 25.09 and an economy rate of 8.80.

The all-rounder was part of the Delhi Capitals franchise in IPL 2022 and was traded to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the 2023 season but failed to make much of an impact in both editions.