Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have had a very tough season during the Indian Premier League 2022. They finished 9th in the points table with just four wins in the season. This has been the worst ever season for the four-time champions and they will be eager for some changes ahead of next season.
The Yellow Army started releasing ahead of the mini auctions for IPL 2023. While they managed to retain their core including MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali. They released names like Adam Milne, Chris Jordan and Narayan Jagadeesan. Chennai Super Kings also surprisingly released their old warhorse Dwayne Bravo. Meanwhile, Robin Uthappa has retired from all forms of cricket after IPL 2022.
Chennai Super Kings still have INR 20.45 crore before the auction. They have a total of seven spots to fill, including two overseas spots. In this post, we will take a look at the top three players that Chennai Super Kings could target in the pre-IPL 2023 mini-auctions.
3. Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey had a terrible season last year with Lucknow Super Giants as he could only score 88 runs in 6 matches at a low strike rate of 110. He was later released by LSG ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.
The right-hander has been in good form during the current domestic season. Manish Pandey scored 247 runs at an average of 61.75 during Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022.
CSK need a solid Indian middle-order batsman as a replacement for Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey could be the perfect candidate. In addition, it is likely to be available for a reasonable price.