New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan opened up about the team purchasing uncapped all-rounder Prashant Veer at the IPL mini-auction, stating that they were looking for a new No. 7 player after trading Ravindra Jadeja to Rajasthan Royals.

The Uttar Pradesh all-rounder’s price increased 47.3 times his initial value after CSK resisted early interest from the Royals and a late, fierce competition from Sunrisers Hyderabad to acquire the 20-year-old left-arm spinner and middle-order batter for a record Rs. 14.20 crore.

The franchise’s CEO said they had hoped to sign Cameron Green but had to withdraw when the bidding surpassed Rs. 25 crore, explaining they could not spend more than 50 percent of their purse on a single player as it might have affected their subsequent acquisitions.

“To summarise, it was very difficult in the first round. We were hoping to get Cameron Green. But if we gave more than 50% of our purse for him alone, it would have been tough to get the rest of the players, especially the youngsters.

“We had identified a lot of youngsters. We were afraid we wouldn’t get them. That’s why we could only go up to 25 crores for green. But, we were able to get the youngsters whom we wanted,” he said in a video shared by the franchise.

Shedding light on Veer’s acquisition, which made him the joint-costliest uncapped player to ever be sold at the IPL auction, Kasi said, “Prashant Veer is a new player. You know that we traded Jaddu (Jadeja) with RR. So we needed a number 7 who can bat and who can bowl. And who is also a good fielder.”

“Our talent scout team gave us a lot of feedback as to which of the youngsters were doing well. Prashant Veer was the number one player whom the talent scout team had identified.

“He also came for CSK trials when we had the trials at HPC, we got to know about his talent. We could spot out that he has something extra. (AR) Srikanth, (Sridharan) Sriram, all of them were there. They told us that Prashant Veer has a special talent. They told us to keep an eye on him. They told us that he’d be a good pick. So, we thought he would be a good bet for us,” he added.

CSK’s auction strategy saw a change this time, as the franchise bid for many youngsters, aiming to build a futuristic squad and learning from their mistakes of the past.

Once dubbed ‘Daddy’s Army,’ Kasi said that the team looked to identify youngsters and up-and-coming players to bolster the squad’s strength.

“In the 2018 auction during the lunch time, our boss Srinivasan Sir scolded us, ‘Are you picking players? What are you doing?’ All the fans also started saying, ‘You’ve picked a team like some Daddy’s army.’ But we won the trophy, coming back after 2 years. From that time, you will see in IPL, there has been a change in the kind of cricket which is being played. Power cricket, which is coming. For that, we have to adapt. That adaptation will take some time.

“Last year, we brought in youngsters from mid-season. Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, all of them came into the team. We have traded in Sanju Samson. So, we have strengthened the batting. We are identifying some of the bowlers who will be good. Akeal Hossein is probably the best T20 powerplay bowler.

“Similarly, we have bowlers who can be really useful. We have got Jamie Overton, and now Matt Henry and Foulkes who are all very good with the new ball. So, I think we have fairly got a good side,” he stated.

Kasi assured the fans that they’ll have fun watching CSK’s games at their home ground, Chepauk, and said that skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and veteran MS Dhoni will ‘do a great job for the team.’

“And you know, Rutu (Ruturaj Gaikwad), how calm he is. Along with Flem (Stephen Fleming) and Thala (MS Dhoni), the team will come back. And definitely, we will do well this year.

“Message to fans, as I always say, Thala and Rutu will do a great job for the team. Fans, this year you will really enjoy watching CSK at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. And hope we win the trophy,” he concluded.

–IANS

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