"CSK will definitely come in the top 4 as always" - Sunil Gavaskar

Former India player Sunil Gavaskar expects the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to be one of the teams again to qualify for the playoffs in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024). Notably, CSK has reached the knockout stages in 12 of the 14 seasons of the tournament they have participated in. Along with the Mumbai Indians (MI), they are the joint-most successful team in the history of the tournament, with both having won five titles each.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gavaskar said: “If you see the purchases they did at the auction table, the aspects they had to strengthen, it seemed like they lacked a little in bowling last year and in batting also they had to strengthen the middle order slightly after Ambati Rayudu’s retirement, they have done all that. They have a good mix of youth and experience. So I feel CSK will definitely come in the top four as always. You cannot say any team ‘definitely yes’ as favourites. However, the way the Chennai Super Kings have performed for so many years, they have qualified in 12 of the 16 editions. So it’s likely to happen for the 13th time.”

SEE ALSO: IND vs ENG: “He is making us fall in love with Test cricket” – Aakash Chopra praises Jasprit Bumrah

However, CSK bought Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, and Mustafizur Rahman at the auction. They bought Shardul Thakur, Sameer Rizvi, and Avanish Rao Aravelly to strengthen their squad as well. Sunil Gavaskar also shared his views on whether the Chennai Super Kings have sufficient backups as a few of them are slightly injury-prone.

“I feel they are covered because they have options. Shardul Thakur getting reacquired has removed the concern slightly about whether Deepak Chahar will play the entire tournament because Shardul Thakur can take his place. Tushar Deshpande is extremely fit and Mukesh Choudhary, who didn’t play last year, was quite impressive when he played before that. So if his form remains good, they will not have any concerns about the new-ball bowling,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.