Three-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, got England spin bowler Moeen Ali for Rs 7 crore, more than three times the fee paid when he was last at auction in 2018.

Moeen, 33, returned to England this week after playing a key role in the second Test defeat by India in Chennai.

Off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham was the costliest Indian buy after he went to Chennai for Rs 9.25 crore.

Going into the auction, CSK had a purse of Rs 22.9 crore at their disposal.

Chennai Super Kings had released some big names ahead of the auction, namely Harbhajan Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Shane Watson and Piyush Chawla. Watson and Harbhajan had played pivotal roles in the team’s success in the 2019 and 2018 season. In IPL 2020, Watson scored 299 runs from 11 matches at a strike rate of 121.05. The Australian all-rounder has since announced his retirement from all forms of the game.

With the new purchases, CSK looked to fill this void. Also, in the upcoming IPL season, the Dhoni-led side would hope to put a dismal 2020 season behind them. CSK would muster only 12 points from 14 games in IPL 2020 and finished at the seventh spot.

Chennai Super Kings full squad for IPL 2021

Retained: MS Dhoni (captain), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, N Jagadeesan, Lungi Ngidi, Josh Hazlewood, R Sai Kishore.

New additions: Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harisankar Reddy and Bhagvath Varma.