The 2008 auction seemed pretty straightforward from CSK’s perspective. After Dhoni’s arrival, they concentrated on players who didn’t necessarily set pulses racing but suited their style of play perfectly.
The likes of Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, and Muttiah Muralitharan were extraordinary cricketers. However, they didn’t have as much star value as Adam Gilchrist, Mahela Jayawardene, Ricky Ponting, and Sanath Jayasuriya.
This trend has continued for CSK post the opening auction in 2008. Apart from a couple of seasons where they bought Andrew Flintoff (2009) and Ravindra Jadeja (2012), they have never bought the most expensive player at a particular auction.
Even with Flintoff and Jadeja, the idea was clear. Both represented top-class all-rounders and while the Flintoff experiment didn’t materialise as expected, Jadeja has carved an incredible niche at CSK.
So, there is a method to the CSK madness. They only over-spend when they feel a cricketer will epitomise what the franchise stands for, and if he can contribute in more ways than one. On all other occasions, they have been content to let the auction pass them by and have only sprung into action when necessary.
Quite often, that has led to fans from other teams ridiculing them. Back in 2018 (the last time a full-fledged auction was held), CSK brought on board what was dubbed the Dad’s Army. They have won half of the IPLs that have happened since.
The arrivals of Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Lungi Ngidi, Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shane Watson, and Shardul Thakur didn’t make a lot of “cricketing sense”. Some had middling records at their previous franchises, whereas others were deemed to be too old.
CSK, though, managed to extract every ounce of performance from these cricketers, indicating that this franchise, despite not adhering to conventional logic and wisdom, finds a way to tick.
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