'Brace yourself ': R Ashwin advocates star player as an ideal Ambati Rayudu substitute in CSK

Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) auctions are rapidly approaching, with main event taking place in Dubai on December 19. One of teams that needs to tick a lot of boxes in preparation for IPL season is MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Chennai broke five-trophy record held by Mumbai Indians last year, but y h to let go of a number of players who were instrumental in ir victory. Ambati Rayudu is one such player; he retired following IPL 2023 final, leaving Chennai to fill his void. 

3 things you need to kw

• IPL 2024 Auction to take place on December 19, 2023
• Almost 600 players will be a part of IPL 2024 Auction
• GT has highest remaining purse of Rs. 38.15 crore

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CSK needs replacement of Ambato Rayudu

Ahe of start of 17th IPL season, five-time champions, CSK, are missing a batter who can bat at number four or five and showcase his mettle against both seamers and spinners. need is dire since Ambati Rayudu has hung up his boots and Ben Stokes has been released. It's interesting to te that y still have players like Shivam Dube and Moeen Ali in ir ranks, but it is expected that Chennai will try to fill Rayudu's spot in upcoming auction.

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Ravichandran Ashwin comes up with suggestion

Former CSK player Ravichandran Ashwin me following suggestions regarding Rayudu's replacement: Karun Nair and Shahrukh Khan. off-spinner, who was born in Chennai, ded that former would fit CSK's strategy better.

"y (CSK) are searching for a replacement for Ambati Rayudu. Shahrukh (Khan) is t a replacement for him at .4. I have idea who y are going to play in that position this season. y might try a left-hand option but if you look at CSK's track record, y have never gone for an unkwn commodity. y have never played anybody who just did well in ir first season of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. So Karun Nair, folks, brace yourself to see him in yellow," said Ashwin on his Youtube channel.

Rajasthan Royals elaborated on why Nair is perfect fit for Super Kings and what skills he will carry along.

"He is somebody who can play spin well, who could sweep and reverse sweep. MS Dhoni loves it when re is a batter who can play between top order and middle order in .4 slot, especially in Chennai. I feel Karun Nair is perfect for that. I haven't really seen Manish Pandey play spin too much in Chennai but Karun Nair, remember has a triple hundred in a Test match played in Chennai," Ashwin ded.

Chennai has an incredible purse of 31.40 crores going into auctions; y need to purchase just six players in bidding war. But in dition to a strong hitter in middle order, y also need to target some pacers at auction table.