IPL 2024 Auction: R Ashwin feels Shahrukh Khan can fetch Rs 12-13 crore

Ravichandran Ashwin is of the opinion that Shahrukh Khan will lead to a bidding war between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 mini-auction. Shahrukh Khan was released by Punjab Kings after scoring 156 runs in 14 matches, but his runs came at a strike rate of 166 and the Tamil Nadu player can also bowl some off-spin. With Hardik Pandya leaving Gujarat Titans for Mumbai Indians, GT are in need of a finisher and Shahrukh Khan’s lower-order pyrotechnics can be a perfect replacement. This means GT can go all-out for Shahrukh Khan in the auction. “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. 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,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. Gujarat, however, could face stiff competition from MS Dhoni’s CSK who may want to bring in Shahrukh Khan to add a Tamil Nadu player to their squad. “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 said. CSK has also lost some of the big names in Ambati Rayudu, who retired from cricket, and Ben Stokes has pulled out to manage his workload.