Former cricketer Aakash Chopra on Tuesday suggested that
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) should release Mahendra Singh Dhoni if there’s an IPL auction next
year, and utilise Rs 15 crore, which it spends on retaining him, to build the team from scratch.

The former right-handed batsman said that the team can
always retain Dhoni through the use of ‘Right To Match’ card to buy him back.

Posting a Facebook video, Chopra suggested that CSK should release MS Dhoni in the
mega auction, since CSK cannot expect Dhoni to play for full three years as per the contract.

He said he was not against Dhoni’s presence in the team, but the CSK should not keep him as a “retained” player, and buy him back using Right To Match card. 

“If Dhoni does not stay with you for three years and he
plays just the 2021 season, you will get the Rs 15 crore back for the 2022
edition, but how will you find a player worth that Rs 15 crore? That’s the
advantage of a mega-auction, you can create a big team if you have the money.

“If you release Dhoni for the mega auction, you can
pick him with the ‘Right To Match’ card and you can pick the right players by
having the desired money in your kitty. You can pick Dhoni in the auction, from
CSK point of view, if they release Dhoni and then pick him up in auction, it
would be beneficial for them,” he added.

Hinting at the team’s older players,
Chopra said that of all the IPL teams, CSK needed the auction the most ahead of the
next IPL tournament.

Australian all rounder and a CSK player, Shane Watson has
already retired from all forms of cricket. He announced his retirement after CSK’s exit
from the tournament.

Other players also do not seem to be in nick, as was evident
from the team’s dismal performance in the recently concluded edition in which
it ended on seventh, the penultimate, spot.

“CSK needs a mega auction, the side does not have many
players that can be retained. If you want to make a team from the scratch, then
are you willing to spend big bucks on the likes of Faf du Plessis and Ambati
Rayudu? I don’t think that CSK will look at the likes of Raina and Harbhajan if
they are making a team from scratch,” said Chopra.