Chennai Super Kings CEO KS Vishwanathan said that the franchise picked Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman for the next edition of the Indian Premier League with a plan to implement his skills at their home ground in Chepauk.
Mustafizur was picked up by the MS Dhoni-led side in the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai for his base price of INR 2 crore.
Although Mustafizur was overlooked initially in the auction, his name again came under the hammer in the accelerated auction process, where Chennai roped him in.
On Saturday, at the launch of the Junior Super Kings event in Chennai, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan was directly asked to respond to the speculations on whether it will be MS Dhoni's final year before he draws curtains on his illustrious career, but he chose to remain tightlipped and left the responsibility of addressing the issue on the skipper and also shared his thoughts on new addition Mustafizur.
The CSK CEO revealed that buying the Bangladesh international wasn't a hasty decision, but part of a thought-out game plan as they believe his cutters can be an effective option at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, their home ground, which is also known as the Chepauk.
"We thought Mustafizur Rahman would be a good bet at our Chepauk wicket, with the big side boundaries. These were our thoughts, but we were not sure whether we would be able to get them. Luckily, it was a good auction for us this time," Viswanathan told Sportstar.
Chennai will be Mustafizur's fifth team in the IPL. The left-arm pacer has earlier played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and the Delhi Capitals.