IPL Auction 2020: 3 batsmen Chennai Super Kings could target at the auction

The IPL auction for the thirteenth edition of the league is just a month away and all the eight franchises have kickstarted their planning process for the upcoming season. The teams had revealed their respective retention lists after the trade window closed on 15th November. The lists featured a host of big names as the team managements showed no mercy to any of their under-performing stars.

Chennai Super Kings, the most consistent team of the tournament, released six players from their IPL 2019 squad which has opened up some gaps in their team. Stephen Fleming and co. will try to cover all bases in the 2020 auction and given that the team’s batting unit lacked the firepower in the previous edition, the three-time winners will look to go after a few batsmen in the auction.

CSK could target these three batsmen in the auction.

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#3 Brandon King

A long term solution to CSK's opening woes

The right-handed West Indian opener, Brandon King gained the world's attention while playing for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the 2019 Caribbean Premier League. King ended the tournament as its highest run-scorer while his consistency at the top had played an instrumental role in the success that Guyana achieved.

He scored 496 runs in 12 matches during the tournament. The 24-year-old batsman had an unbelievable average of 55.11 with a strike rate of 148.94. He hit 44 fours and 32 sixes in the tournament besides scoring a hundred and three half-tons.

With the opening batsmen of Chennai, Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson not active in the international arena, they may find it difficult to bat aggressively during the IPL. Also, Rayudu's numbers had witnessed a dip in IPL 2019 while Watson is not in the best shape of his life and thus, Chennai could opt for the services of King in the auction.

#2 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa has played for three IPL franchises

The most experienced name present on this list is the former Kolkata Knight Riders star, Robin Uthappa. The right-handed batsman had surprisingly been released by the Shahrukh Khan-owned franchise prior the 2020 season. Since he is a former Orange Cap winner, Robin could be on the wishlist of quite a few franchises.

The former Indian batsman is a 12-year veteran in the T20 format and he has played 256 T20 matches in his career, aggregating 6,504 runs at an average of 28.90. Though Uthappa has never scored a hundred in the shortest form of the game, he has 37 half-centuries to his name which shows the immense talent that he possesses.

The Coorg-born player is still 34 years old, and still has quite a bit of cricket left in him. Thus, CSK should invest in him because not only can he play the role of a top order batsman but he can also keep the wickets for the Chennai-based franchise in case MS Dhoni wishes to rest himself.

#1 Tom Banton

Tom Banton

The 21-year-old English wicket-keeper batsman, Tom Banton could prove to be the hottest commodity in the auction. The top two franchises, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have inquired with Somerset about his availability for the upcoming IPL season. While Mumbai have an abundance of talent in their side, Chennai still needs to strengthen their team in certain areas.

As discussed earlier, the opening partnership has been a weak point for CSK in the previous season and hence, Banton would be a welcome addition to the side. The right-handed opener had smashed 549 runs for his county, Somerset, in Vitality T20 Blast 2019. And, with that performance, he earned himself a place in the national T20I team.

Banton has already signed a deal with Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League hence, it seems like the next stop for the youngster is the cash-rich Indian Premier League.

If the three-time champions can snap him in the player auction, then it will be very tough to stop them from lifting the trophy for the fourth time.