Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bid for Australia batsman Travis Head in the IPL 2024 auction but Sunrisers Hyderabad outbid them to grab the Aussie opener in their squad. Cricket commentator Aakash Chopra feels that Travis Head wasn’t of any use to Chennai Super Kings.
Travis Head had a base price of Rs. 2 crore in the IPL 2024 auction. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings were the two teams that went after the Australian opener. In the end, SRH sealed the left-handed batter for Rs. 6.80 crore.
Travis Head was expected to fetch a big amount in the IPL 2024 auction after his stunning knock in the ICC World Cup 2023 final against India. The left-handed batsman shattered a century in the final to drive the Aussies to victory by 6 wickets in the match.
Travis Head Wasn’t Of Any Use To CSK: Aakash Chopra
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said he was surprised to see Chennai Super Kings going after Travis Head in the IPL 2024 auction. According to Aakash Chopra, CSK opted to go after Travis Head to find Moeen Ali’s replacement. However, the Aussie opener is not a like-for-like replacement for Moeen Ali.
“This team was going towards Travis Head. We were slightly surprised. They might have been trying to keep him as Moeen Ali’s replacement. If you ask me personally, he wasn’t of any use. He couldn’t have been a like-for-like replacement for Moeen Ali.
“Devon Conway opens, and Travis Head also opens. Travis Head wouldn’t have scored runs as soon as you would have sent him in the middle order. So it’s good you didn’t get him. Hyderabad took him and they (CSK) got Rachin Ravindra in place of him for just 1.80 crores,” Chopra further added.
Chennai Super Kings have a powerful set of openers in the form of Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad. In the 2023 season, both of them showcased stunning batting performances to provide a powerful start to the team across many games.
Shardul Thakur In Four Crores Is An Absolute Deal: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra also feels that CSK made a superb deal by picking Shardul Thakur for Rs. 4 crores. Chopra also feels that Thakur was the only Indian pacer who didn’t go expensive.
“As I said about Mumbai, Chennai also I think got lucky. Shardul Thakur in four crores is an absolute steal. In my opinion, people should have saved 10-14 crores for the Lord, which Harshal Patel eventually got. Only three or four capped Indian fast bowlers were available.
One was Umesh Yadav, who went for 5.80 crores, and then Harshal Patel went expensive. Even Shivam Mavi went expensive but Shardul Thakur didn’t.
He is not a part of India’s T20I scheme of things, but when 10.75 crore rupees were given by Delhi and then he shifted from there last year, it means the player has value.”, the former India opener further said.
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Notably, Shardul Thakur was part of CSK setup for many seasons before IPL 2022 mega-auction, when Delhi Capitals picked him for Rs. 10 crore. In the 2023 season, DC traded Thakur to Kolkata Knight Riders. Ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, KKR released Thakur from the squad.
