"They can buy whoever they want" - Aakash Chopra says CSK are better placed than MI and RCB heading into IPL 2024 auction

Aakash Chopra feels the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are better placed than the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) heading into the IPL 2024 auction.

The Chennai-based franchise released two big-ticket players, Ben Stokes and Ambati Rayudu, ahead of the auction, with the former making himself unavailable and the latter retiring after last season's title-winning run. They have a purse of ₹31.40 crore and can acquire a maximum of six players, including three foreigners.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked to rank CSK, MI and RCB ahead of the auction, to which he responded (2:55):

"I feel Chennai are the best placed. They were last season's champions. They have a lot of money and they don't need to buy too many players. Ben Stokes and Ambati Rayudu left and suddenly you got a lot of money available."

The former India opener added:

"Mukesh Choudhary is back available again. They can buy whoever they want because they have a lot of money. The team is looking extremely strong. I feel they will look towards one or two Indian batters. They might take Shahrukh Khan, Manish Pandey or Karun Nair."

Shahrukh Khan, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair were released by the Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants respectively as part of their retention process. CSK could consider picking Shahrukh to add some local flavor to their squad.

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"He is an amazing player and a fantastic captain" - Aakash Chopra on MS Dhoni as CSK's biggest strength

MS Dhoni extracts the best from his players. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra highlighted that MS Dhoni is one of CSK's biggest assets. He elaborated (3:25):

"Then they will need some fast bowlers. They will get that. In any case, you say about Dhoni - 'Want to become a batter or a bowler, I will get that done'. He is an amazing player and a fantastic captain."

On the flip side, the cricketer-turned-commentator opined that RCB and MI have some holes to plug and potentially don't have sufficient budget. He said:

"So, in my opinion, Chennai are better placed than the others because both RCB and MI have to do shopping, especially in the bowling department, and they don't have as much money as they should have had. They could have had more money, but unfortunately, they don't."

MI have a purse of ₹17.75 crore going into the auction and can buy a maximum of eight players, including four foreigners. RCB have ₹23.25 crore to spend and need six players, including three foreigners, to complete a full-strength 25-member squad.