Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder, Suresh Raina on Thursday said the 4-time champions will spend big to buy the services of Sam Curran in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction on Friday, December 23. Raina went a step ahead and predicted that Curran could lead CSK in the future if the Men in Yellow successfully buy him in the auction in Kochi.

Sam Curran overcame injury issues that barred him from taking part in IPL 2022 to make a strong comeback at the T20 World Cup. Curran managed to scalp 13 wickets in 6 matches, including 3 for 12 in the final which England won against Pakistan.

Curran played for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020 and IPL 2021 after making his tournament debut with Punjab Kings (PBKS) in 2019. CSK were able to buy the England all-rounder for INR 5.5 crore but they might have to spend more than that as several teams are in the fray to secure the services of the overseas all-rounder.

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Sam Curran picked up 13 wickets and scored 186 runs, forming a fine connection with the likes of MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming at CSK in his inaugural season. Curran picked up 9 wickets in as many matches in his second season with Chennai.

During a discussion on Jio Cinema, Suresh Raina said, “CSK really want him in their set-up because he has done really well in the World Cup. He has got great leadership qualities as well. CSK can look for a captain in him in the future. Chennai wickets will definitely suit his bowling. A lot of variation and when you are playing home games, he is going to be very useful.”

CSK will be looking for a captaincy candidate as MS Dhoni is unlikely to carry on beyond 2023 after having confirmed that he would want to play the last match of his IPL career after playing home games in India. The last 3 editions of IPL were either held overseas or at select venues in India.

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Chennai Super Kings handed over the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja in IPL 2022 but the all-rounder stepped down, handing back the reigns to MS Dhoni following a poor start to the season. Robin Uthappa, who played for CSK in the last 2 seasons, said that the Chennai-based franchise will be keen on investing on a player like Curran.

Robin Uthappa said, “It makes more sense to invest in a player like him and also retain him in the next tw years. He has got the skllset to become a captaincy material.”