Rajasthan Royals traded veteran batsman Robin Uthappa to Chennai Super Kings under trading rules on Thursday. This means Uthappa will be a part of MS Dhoni-led CSK in the 14th season of Indian Premier League (IPL). After getting Uthappa for IPL 2021, CSK might include six more players, including a foreign player.
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Significantly, last year, Rajasthan Royals bought Uthappa for three crore rupees. In the IPL 2020, the wicket-keeper batsman scored only 196 runs in 12 matches. Chennai Super Kings have released its six players before the auction, which includes big names like Harbhajan Singh and Kedar Jadhav.
Chennai had 22.9 crore left in their kitty but as now CSK traded with Rajasthan for Robin Uthappa (3 crore), Chennai now has an amount of Rs 19.9 crore left in their purse. Robin Uthappa has also played for Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pune Warriors and Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL, before playing for Rajasthan Royals.
Legend Shane Watson, who plays for Chennai Super Kings, has announced retirement and Murali Vijay has been released from the team. Uthappa has now been brought into the team as a new opener.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Robin is our newest Bat-Man! Welcoming you with <a >#Yellove</a> Vanakkam <a >@robbieuthappa</a>! <a >#WhistlePodu</a> 🦁💛 <a >pic.twitter.com/MYVpwvV2ZG</a></p>— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) <a >January 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Uthappa, who has played every season of the IPL since the beginning of the tournament, has scored 4607 runs in 189 matches at a good strike-rate of 129.99. This includes 24 half-centuries and a 2014 Orange Cap performance in which he contributed to KKR's second title win with massive 660 runs.
Chennai Super Kings Retained players: MS Dhoni (Captain), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf Duplessis, Imran Tahir, Narayan Jagadeeshan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Engidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Rituraj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood, R. Sai Kishore, Sam Karan.
Chennai Super Kings Released players: Shane Watson (Retired), Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Monu Singh.
Balance: 19.9 crores
Players to pick: 06 (01 overseas)