New Delhi: India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin opined that there could be a bidding war between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans for hard-hitting middle-order batter Shahrukh Khan at the IPL 2024 player’s auction that will be held in Dubai on December 19.
The right-hander, who was a part of the Punjab Kings franchise for three seasons till IPL 2023, has been released ahead of the auction next month. The Tamil Nadu batter has so far played 33 matches, scoring 426 runs at a strike rate of 134.81.
“I can definitely see a war between CSK and Gujarat for Shahrukh Khan. Gujarat have let go of Hardik Pandya, Gujarat needs a player who can finish the innings, a sort of power player and they need a power player,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“Shahrukh was at Rs 9 crore At Kings, and I thought he showed his skills pretty well. Is it a decent release? Because I think he might end up going for Rs 12-13 crore again,” added Ashwin, who plays for Rajasthan Royals in IPL.
With CSK and Gujarat Titans releasing Stokes and Hardik respectively, Shahrukh becomes the perfect for the middle-order and can garner a lot of hype in the auction. Ashwin also stated that CSK might risk Mitchell Starc for Shahrukh.
CSK have always looked for Australian pacers in IPL and having Starc in their line-up will bolster their not-so-experienced bowling combination. “CSK might even take a chance of missing out on Mitchell Starc to get Shahrukh Khan because they don’t have a local player or a presence.
“They went for Shahrukh Khan in the mega auction, and that’s why I’m guessing so,” Ashwin added.
