Aakash Chopra has a viewpoint. He feels the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) failure to net Travis Head during the IPL 2024 sale didn’t harm them.
The SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) paid a higher price, ₹6.80 crore, and got Head away from CSK. In return, the champs bought Rachin Ravindra and Shardul Thakur at a lesser cost of ₹5.80 crore. These two were their first buys at the auction.
In a video posted to his YouTube account, Chopra stated that the Chennai Super Kings benefited by the loss of Head. He elaborated:
“This team was going towards Travis Head. We were slightly surprised. They might have been trying to keep him as Moeen Ali’s replacement (backup). If you ask me personally, he wasn’t of any use. He couldn’t have been a like-for-like replacement for Moeen Ali.”
Aakash Chopra
The former India opener added:
“Devon Conway opens, Travis Head also opens. Travis Head wouldn’t have scored runs as soon as you would have sent him in the middle order. So it’s good you didn’t get him. Hyderabad took him and they (CSK) got Rachin Ravindra in place of him for just 1.80 crores.”
Aakash Chopra
Rachin Ravindra, according to Chopra, is a suitable Devon Conway backup. He went on to say that if they included Ravindra in the starting lineup at Conway’s cost, the five-time champs wouldn’t even have to start Mitchell Santner on spin-friendly surfaces.
Aakash Chopra praises CSK for buying Shardul Thakur at a low price
Aakash Chopra thinks it was a fortunate break for Chennai Super Kings to secure Shardul Thakur without breaking the bank. He explains:
“As I said about Mumbai, Chennai also I think got lucky. Shardul Thakur in four crores is an absolute steal. In my opinion, people should have saved 10-14 crores for Lord, which Harshal Patel eventually got. Only three or four capped Indian fast bowlers were available.”
Aakash Chopra
The seam-bowling all-rounder’s 10.75 crore acquisition by the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2022 auction and subsequent transfer to the Kolkata Knight Riders, according to the cricketer-turned-commentator, demonstrates his worth. He stated:
“One was Umesh Yadav, who went for 5.80 crores, and then Harshal Patel went expensive. Even Shivman Mavi went expensive but Shardul Thakur didn’t. He is not a part of India’s T20I scheme of things, but when 10.75 crore rupees were given by Delhi and then he shifted from there last year, it means the player has value.”
Aakash Chopra
In 2023’s IPL, injuries impacted Shardul, allowing him to take only seven wickets. His economy rate was higher than usual at 10.48 across 21 overs in 11 matches. Shardul’s IPL career record shows 89 dismissals. His normal economy rate is slightly below average, clocking in at 9.16 over 86 matches.