Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2023: Ben Stokes was purchased by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a hefty 16.25 crore at the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, so they didn’t need to be prompted again.
Ben Stokes is not thought to be worth such an outrageous price tag by certain members of the cricket community. Especially if he is not given his ideal role on the team. It made sense for CSK to pay the money nonetheless because it was a mini-auction and player availability was a hot topic.
Yet, other players on the roster were signed either before or after the 2022 reorganization for sums that perhaps contradict logic. Here are three CSK players with expensive IPL 2023 contracts.
IPL 2023: Here are 3 Chennai Super Kings Players Who Might Not perform well as their Worth
MS Dhoni
Although MS Dhoni is perhaps the best skipper the game has ever known, his batting heyday has long since passed him by. The former Indian captain has had disappointing batting performances over the last few IPL season. And seems to be nearing the end of his career as a professional cricketer.
Dhoni currently receives 12 crores of CSK’s auction funds, but neither his performance nor his rewards have supported that sum. It’s debatable whether his leadership alone keeps the Chennai Super Kings team afloat in the IPL. But he wasn’t even the captain when he was named the team’s second retention before to the 2022 mega-auction.
After Dhoni replaced Ravindra Jadeja, the franchise returned to normal. The 41-year-old must. However, produce wildly different batting performances in the forthcoming season to justify consuming this much of CSK’s expenditure.
Deepak Chahar
Deepak Chahar hasn’t appeared in a single game for CSK since being signed at the IPL 2022 mega-auction for $14 crore. The all-around player struggled with fitness issues over the past few months and missed the majority of the previous season due to injuries.
Despite being a useful T20 all-rounder, Chahar is undoubtedly unworthy of such an enormous contract. The Super Kings presumably wouldn’t feel comfortable placing him higher in the order than No. 8. because his batting at the highest level is still not well-established.
Chahar is a strong powerplay wicket-taker with the ball but provides little else for the rest of the innings. The 30-year-old cricketer isn’t trustworthy enough to be on a 14-crore contract when you combine that with his injury issues.
Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu‘s CSK career has recently been marred by controversy as the batter appeared to retract his retirement announcement after making it public. He appears prepared to participate in IPL 2023 for the Men in Yellow.
The choice to purchase Rayudu by CSK in the IPL 2022 mega-auction for 6.75 crores was criticized by both experts and fans. The 37-year-old only managed 274 runs in the previous season at an average of 24.91. And a strike rate of 122.32. He did not help himself much.
As Rayudu is no longer involved in international cricket, it appears that he has little left in the tank based on his recent domestic results. The middle-order batter should ideally be on a discounted deal that won’t have an impact on CSK’s finances. But that isn’t the situation at the moment.
