CSK Strategy At IPL 2024 Auction: Which Players Will MS Dhoni And Co. Go For?

As the Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction 2024, set to be conducted on December 19 in Dubai, all eyes will be on MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK). While the IPL 2024 season is expected to get underway in March next year, CSK's title defence kicks off with the auction itself. With other title rivals certain to strengthen their squad, the Chennai outfit must get the balance of their squad right for the upcoming campaign if they are to retain their crown.

Heading into the 2024 IPL Season, the Super Kings have already released some big names like Ben Stokes, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Pretorius and Kyle Jamieson. Fringe players like Sisanda Magala, Bhagath Varma, Akash Singh and Subhranshu Senapati have also been released, leaving CSK with a list of 19 retained players.

CSK's retained players list for IPL 2024:

This leaves CSK above the team floor limit of 18 and with a purse of 31.4 crore INR to strengthen their squad at the IPL 2024 mini-auction in Dubai and enough financial muscle to flex to go for the big-money players they want.

With a maximum of six slots left to fill in the squad, the big question that crops up is who will MS Dhoni and the CSK management target at the upcoming auction?

CSK has been known for making bold moves at IPL auctions and more often than not, their gambles have paid off.

Turn the clock back to the inaugural IPL Auction back in 2008, Chennai Super Kings pulled off a masterstroke of a move. Not succumbing to the allure of an icon player, CSK opted to safeguard their purse for a then-record bid of US$ 1.5 million for one MS Dhoni and the rest, as they say, is history.

Dhoni would go on to lead the team to 10 finals in CSK's 14 seasons, winning five IPL titles in the process - the joint-most