Despite Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 still being a few months away, fans of the league will be on high alert on Wednesday with the final list of Retained Players being announced.
Speaking on STAR Sports’ show ‘IPL: RETENTION SPECIAL’, former India cricketer and columnist Aakash Chopra said Chennai Super Kings (CSK) desperately needed to get rid of dead weight, saying, “as the deadline for the IPL Player Retention process approaches, I feel now would be the right time for CSK to shed their ‘Dad’s Army’ tag and introduce young talent in the team.
“MS Dhoni has relied heavily on senior players who have performed in the past, but he along with the CSK think-tank need to change their strategy. They would certainly need to retain last year’s match-winners like Ambati Rayudu, Shardul Thakur and Ruturaj Gaikwad.”
MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in the history of the franchise in 2020. Image: Sportzpics for BCCI
However, for rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Chopra suggested a bit of caution, saying, “RCB on the other hand, looks like they have finally found a balanced squad. Mike Hesson, at the helm of affairs, has proven to be very effective for the team. Like almost every other team, even RCB have few players who can be released. With Parthiv Patel’s voluntary retirement, the team management can also look at moving away from Umesh Yadav, Shivam Dube and Moeen Ali.”
Chopra also spoke about Rajasthan Royals and the Mumbai Indians, saying, “on paper, Rajasthan Royals feels like one of the most complete teams in the IPL, but on the field, the team has failed to impress even its staunch supporters. Though RR had something to cheer about in Rahul Tewatia and Riyan Parag last season, they still finished at the bottom of the table. I feel the team needs a new leader and that has to be at the top of the priority list next season. I think the team should not release their current young talent such as Akash Singh, Mahipal Lomror, Mayank Markande, Anuj Rawat and Kartik Tyagi.”
“Coming to the defending champions Mumbai Indians, they currently possess the dream squad. There are a lot of highly talented players who are almost like-for-like replacements on the bench. Now, with the possible return of Lasith Malinga, the team could be less experimental with the overseas players,” he added.
The final list of Retained Players of the IPL franchises will be announced at 6.00 PM today during the show ‘IPL: Retention Special’ on Star Sports & Disney+ Hotstar.
This article is auto-generated by Algorithm Source: www.firstpost.com
