Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has shared that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to be there in the playoffs for sure if they can manage to buy some specific players at the Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction, slated to take place on Tuesday, in Dubai. CSK’s purse has been in good shape since the release of Ben Stokes as well as Ambati Rayudu’s retirement. He also said that Manish Pandey and Harshal Patel as ideal players for CSK considering the conditions and their skills. Notably, CSK have a purse of ₹31.40 crore with six places to fill ahead of the mini-auction.
“CSK will go hard after Harshal Patel and that is going to hurt RCB. Harshal Patel has the qualities needed to bowl on the Chennai wicket. If they get Manish Pandey, either one of Mitchell or Ravindra and Harshal Patel, CSK will be in the top three for sure in IPL 2024,” Hogg said on his YouTube channel.”CSK need an Indian middle-order batter. Manish Pandey is the man for them. He is also a good fielder, but we have not seen the best of him and I think if he gets an opportunity wth CSK and under the leadership of MS Dhoni, we will see the best of him again. I also think they need another option in the middle order and they can go after Mitchell, but I don’t think they will get him. I think they will go with Ravindra.”
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Meanwhile, RCB have released their bowling department – Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Harshal Patel. They had invested heavily in the three bowlers in the 2022 mini-auction as well. RCB have acquired Cameron Green in a trade deal with the Mumbai Indians (MI), but they still need a strong set of bowlers around Mohammed Siraj.
“RCB are in a world of hurt in their bowling department. They have spent big on their batters and they have not left enough to pick up quality bowlers to be able to complement Siraj. RCB will be after Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel again. They will be hoping to pick them up a lot cheaper than what they had them for over the last couple of years. If RCB don’t get Hasaranga and Harshal, they will have to restructure and go for a quality overseas quick and take a risk on an unknown Indian spinner. Hopefully, that spinner can develop quickly to be able to provide the right balance for their bowling attack,” Brad Hogg concluded.
