CSK need restructuring before next IPL, says Agarkar

New Delhi : Former India fast bowler Ajit Agarkar believes Chennai Super Kings, who didn’t have a great outing in IPL 2020, need a “little bit of restructuring” ahead of next year’s Indian Premier League. CSK, three-time IPL champions, failed to make it to the playoffs for the first time and ended at the seventh spot in the group stage. “I think there are a couple of teams, CSK certainly need a little bit of restructuring,” said Agarkar while speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

Recently, cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra also said that CSK should release MS Dhoni if a mega auction takes place ahead of 2021 IPL. Meanwhile, Agarkar also said that he wants to see Kolkata Knight Riders, who have a lot of match-winners, perform more consistently in the next season.’…the one team I hope plays better or play a bit more consistently is KKR. I think KKR certainly has a lot of match-winners in them or T20 specialists if you like. They should be doing a lot better,” said Agarkar.

“There were in better positions, changed the captain for some reason midway through and you could see that there was something not right in the camp. I think it has happened before as well and somehow, they scrapped through to the playoffs,” he added.

KKR finished fifth in IPL 2020 with 14 points in as many games in the tournament played in the United Arab Emirates. Despite having the likes of Andre Russell, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Sunil Narine and Pat Cummins, the Kolkata-based franchise failed to qualify for the playoffs. “They have got far too good a team to be as inconsistent, T20 format is very difficult to be consistent, but they have got far too good a team to be that. So, I hope they get those things right. And specially, get the leadership, whoever it is and stick to it during the course of the season,” said the former Indian pacer.