Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan recently addressed rumors about the franchise’s interest in signing Rishabh Pant at the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction. Speculation began after India’s T20 World Cup win, when a report suggested at CSK’s interest in the wicketkeeper-batter. The talk grew when Delhi Capitals did not include Pant in their retention list. This has placed him in the pool of high-profile Indian players available for the auction, alongside KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.
When asked if CSK would bid for Pant, Kasi Viswanathan spoke to former CSK player Ambati Rayudu on Provoke TV. While he didn’t rule out the possibility, he made it clear that CSK’s primary focus is on retaining their core team from the 2024 season. He acknowledged that their budget might limit them in securing top players during the auction.
“We had discussions with Ruturaj (Gaikwad), the captain, MS (Dhoni), and coach Stephen Fleming before finalizing the retentions. We prioritized players who had contributed to the team’s success and stability in recent seasons,” Kasi explained. He mentioned that choosing the retentions was straightforward, with Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Shivam Dube, and Matheesha Pathirana being key players being retained. He added that retaining these players meant CSK would have a smaller auction purse, making it challenging to compete for the high-profile Indian players.
CSK’s retention decisions have left them with an auction budget of INR 55 crore. According to Kasi, they are likely to focus on getting back some of their overseas players from last season, such as Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, and Maheesh Theekshana. Among Indian players, they may look to bring back Deepak Chahar. CSK also has one Right-To-Match (RTM) card, which could be used to reclaim a key player during the auction.
IPL 2025 mega auction is set to be held on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, following last year’s overseas auction in Dubai. A record 1,574 players, including 1,165 Indian and 409 overseas, have registered. Teams have retained 46 players, spending a combined Rs 558.5 crore. Each team can have up to 25 players, with a maximum of eight overseas. New RTM card rules allow only teams with fewer than six retentions to use them, promising a competitive and strategic auction.
Also read: MS Dhoni Enjoys A Little Piece of Cake Celebrating Friend’s Birthday at Gym
Thank you for reading.
