The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had a very little to do in the IPL 2019 auction. The franchise just had slots for two players and had specific names they wanted to go after to fill these slots.
CSK team owners contested for names like Varun Chakravarthy, a Tamil Nadu lad, who ended up being the star of the auction night, but they had to stop when they ran out of money in their allotted purse.
Getting a fast bowler who can bowl at the death was mandatory for CSK. They went after Mohammed Shami and Barinder Sran, but when the bids started going too high, they were pragmatic enough to give way.
CSK was expected to go after Mohit Sharma given their penchant to reclaim players from their original fold. In IPL 2018, Mohit had bowled a brilliant last over to restrict a rampaging MS Dhoni against Kings XI Punjab where he nailed some perfect wide yorkers.
Mohit has played under Dhoni quite a bit over the years. He was an integral part of Dhoni’s pace attack in the 2015 ICC World Cup. Apart from his variations and skills with the ball in hand, Mohit is also an excellent fielder in the outfield.
Nothing pleases Dhoni more than a disciplined bowler who can carry his weight in the team like Mohit did when he dismissed AB de Villiers with a rocket throw in the last ODI World Cup.
After buying Mohit for a whopping amount of Rs 5 crore, CSK expressed their delight on Twitter.
Here’s are some tweets from the Chennai Super Kings:
LION ALERT 🦁
Vandhaa rajavaadhaan varuven!
Purple cap winning #yellove hearted singham @imohitsharma18 is back in the den! #WhistlePodu #PrideOf19 #SuperAuction 🦁💛— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) December 18, 2018
Welcome back to the #Yellove family! #SuperAuction #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/uNAULexU2u
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) December 18, 2018
Super Dencoming @imohitsharma18! PS: Thankfully our lion fulfilled the vital criteria this September! #ThirtyPlus #PrideOf19 #SuperAuction #WhistlePodu 😍🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/nQ7ZVfvwRB
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) December 18, 2018
The young Maharashtra lad, Ruturaj Gaikwad was CSK’s only other pick at the auction. Ruturaj was bought by the yellow army at his base price of Rs 20 lacs.
