IPL 2020 auction: Coach Fleming rates Chawla highly after CSK bags veteran spinner

CSK coach, Stephen Fleming also admitted that M.S. Dhoni’s equation with Piyush Chawla was one of the major reasons behind the move.

Published : Dec 19, 2019 21:03 IST , Kolkata

CSK has bagged Piyush Chawla for IPL 2020 after he was released by KKR.
CSK has bagged Piyush Chawla for IPL 2020 after he was released by KKR.
lightbox-info

CSK has bagged Piyush Chawla for IPL 2020 after he was released by KKR.

It was a relatively easy Indian Premier League auction for Chennai Super Kings, with the M.S. Dhoni-led side having already retained a large number of its players coming into the auction on Thursday. The franchise needed to fill in only five slots.

The Chennai-based franchise roped in veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla for a whopping Rs 6.75 crore, and CSK coach, Stephen Fleming, admitted that Dhoni’s equation with Chawla was one of the major reasons behind the move.

“We rate him very highly. The captain has a very good relationship with him. He is a different type of bowler from Karn Sharma. We have a well-balanced squad,” Fleming said.

IPL 2020 auction: Full list of sold, unsold players

With the side playing its home games at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the side hopes the conditions to be spin friendly and that’s where Chawla could be effective. “The home ground is spin dominant. We are just trying to add some bases to what is a pretty good puzzle,” Fleming said.

Just like Chennai Super Kings, even Mumbai Indians had fewer slots to fill. And the franchise’s owner Aakash Ambani agreed that releasing the players is the ‘most difficult thing'.

“We traded 12 this year that’s the most we have in the last five or six years. Those decisions were the toughest. We wanted to do that so players can get more play time in other teams. Wish them all the best,” Ambani said.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment