Raina will be the first guy CSK would chase at auction, says Uthappa

Former Indian batsman Robin Uthappa believes the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are sure to face Suresh Raina in the mega auction ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2022.

All existing IPL franchises revealed the list of their retained players on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming season's mega auction.

CSK retained Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad during the event.

"He (Raina) is, I think, the most loyal CSK we have ever had. He has helped CSK so decisively over the last 10 to 12 years to qualify for so many knockout phases", said Uthappa on the Star Sports Show 'IPL Retention'.

“Well, Sureshi (Suresh Raina) was an important cog in the wheel, so I think he'll be the first one they'll go after. Even so, it must have been really difficult to let go of Faf, but I think the only thing that made Mo (Moeen Ali) stand out was the fact that he is a two dimensional player with both skills and unfortunately they had to make that choice.

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"And they would definitely want to keep a two skill player. But I'm sure they will chase Faf because he has been incredible for CSK over the past 5 or 6 years," he added.

Meanwhile, the two new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises - Lucknow and Ahmedabad - have a budget of Rs 33 crore to pick three players to go back to the pool before the mega auction starts.