The former opening batter, Aakash Chopra, reckons that KL Rahul could be the future successor of MS Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), once the latter decides to hang his shoes from the 20-over tournament. Rahul parted ways with his former franchise, Lucknow Super Giants after he decided to enter the mega auction of the tournament.
KL Rahul hasn’t featured in a T20I game for the national side since the 2022 T20 World Cup and isn’t in the plans of the selectors to get the place back. In 68 innings of the shortest format, the right-handed batter has collected 2265 runs at an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of around 140 with the help of 22 half-centuries and a couple of hundreds.
The veteran has smashed 4683 runs in the history of the IPL at an average of 45.46 and a strike rate of 134.60, out of which 520 runs came last season at a strike rate of 136.12. Since the 2018 edition of the tournament, he has gathered more than 500 runs in every single season when he has played more than nine games.
Aakash Chopra advises CSK to aim for KL Rahul in the IPL 2025 mega-auction
The CSK franchise is looking to find a stable wicket-keeper Indian batter after their Thala Dhoni takes the retirement from the league, and the renowned commentator, Aakash Chopra, feels that Bengaluru-born, set at a base price of INR 2 crore, could be the best player for the replacement.
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“What all do they need? I feel they need a successor to Dhoni, a wicketkeeper-batter, and it’s great if they get an Indian. Everyone is saying, let me also say – he is more than 30 years old, is going to be a father very soon, and everyone has written him off as well, so he is right for Chennai, that’s KL Rahul. So they will go for KL Rahul.” Chopra expressed this in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
The Yellow franchise just has INR 55 crore left in the bank as they have already retained their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, the premier all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, middle order batter Shivam Dube, uncapped Dhoni and the Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana.
Chopra claimed that it won’t be easy for the franchise to confirm the inclusion of KL Rahul, who will be under the attention of other franchises for both opening and captaincy positions.
“We can’t say for how long they will go, but they will try to acquire him because the franchise still has ₹55 crore to be spent. So if they can get an Indian like him, Ishan Kishan or Rishabh Pant for ₹10-15 crore, they are going to try. They might think about Shreyas Iyer for some time because they will need Indian batters to bat in those conditions.” The Uttar Pradesh-born noted.
In the past, the strong weapon of their bowling was in their spin department, led by Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The former could make a return to the team in the future.
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“CSK has struggled with spin options apart from Ravindra Jadeja. Ashwin, who is also associated with CSK’s academy, could bring balance to their attack in what might be his final IPL cycle.” The former opener concluded.
KL Rahul could also take the position of captaincy for the Yellow Army in the future, replacing Ruturaj Gaikwad. The mega auction of the IPL 2025 will take place on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah.
