"Don't be surprised if they pick Shardul Thakur" - Aakash Chopra on CSK's potential acquisitions at the IPL 2024 auction

Aakash Chopra reckons the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) might acquire Shardul Thakur at the IPL 2024 auction.

The Chennai-based franchise has a remaining purse of ₹31.40 crore and has six available slots, including three overseas positions, heading into the auction. Shardul, who was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders, could be one of the players in the defending champions' scheme of things.

On the AakashVani show on Sports 18, Chopra opined that CSK will look to bolster their seam-bowling department, with Shardul being one of the potential candidates. He elaborated:

"It's clear there are two departments where they will have to rebuild a little. One is the fast-bowling department because Tushar Deshpande, Deepak Chahar, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Simarjeet Singh - they will need someone other than that."

The former India opener added:

"They need fast bowlers. It could be overseas or Indian. They will definitely go shopping for fast bowlers. They generally go towards experienced players. So don't be surprised if they pick Shardul Thakur because 31.4 crore rupees is a lot and Shardul Thakur was also earlier part of this team."

Matheesha Pathirana is the only overseas seamer in the CSK squad. They could even look to acquire a big-ticket seamer like Mitchell Starc or Pat Cummins, considering they have a huge sum at their disposal.

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"They will need an all-rounder" - Aakash Chopra on potential replacements for Ben Stokes in the CSK lineup

Ben Stokes opted out of IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

While suggesting Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell as potential replacements for Ben Stokes, Aakash Chopra reckons the Chennai Super Kings won't need to beef up their spin-bowling department. He said:

"They will need an all-rounder. It could be Rachin Ravindra in place of Ben Stokes, or they might look towards Daryl Mitchell. This team might not need spinners because they have Ravindra Jadeja, Prashant Solanki, Moeen Ali and Mitchell Santner. They will be able to manage with them."

The reputed commentator named Manish Pandey and Karun Nair as a couple of experienced batters who could replace Ambati Rayudu in CSK's squad. He reasoned:

"In the batting department, they might need one more Indian batter in place of Ambati Rayudu. Let's not put it past MS Dhoni. If you are unable to do anything, go to him and he will get it done. So Manish Pandey or Karun Nair, they might go to the team of yellow in the auction."

Pandey and Nair were released by the Delhi Capitals and the Lucknow Super Giants respectively ahead of the auction. MS Dhoni could extract the best from them, as was the case with Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube in IPL 2023.