IPL 2021: Uthappa traded from Rajasthan Royals to Chennai Super Kings in all-cash deal

Uthappa was bought by the Royals in IPL 2019 auctions for INR 3 crore.

Hyderabad: Ahead of the Indian Premier League auction (IPL) 2021, Robin Uthappa has been traded to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for an all-cash deal, Rajasthan Royals (RR) announced on Thursday.

RR confirmed the trade a day after IPL teams released the list of retained players. Uthappa was brought by the Royals in IPL 2019 auctions for INR 3 crore. Uthappa played just 12 games for Rajasthan and scored 196 runs without any fifty.

Uthappa is expected to open the batting for MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in the absence of the retired Shane Watson. Veteran Indian opener Murali Vijay was released by three-times champion on Wednesday.

"We'd like to thank Robbie for his contribution during his time with us," Royals chief executive Jake Lush McCrum said in a statement.

"He provided significant value building into the season in our camps in Guwahati and Nagpur, and his speech during our World Cup winners session during the season was one of the most powerful we have heard," he added.

"We do have depth with regards to openers in our squad, therefore when the offer came from CSK, we thought it was a good opportunity for all parties involved. We'd like to wish Robbie all the best for this season at CSK and his future beyond that."

CSK will be Uthappa's fifth IPL team. Before CSK, he played for the Mumbai Indians (2008), the Royal Challengers Bangalore (2009-10), the Pune Warriors (2011-13), the Kolkata Knight Riders (2014-19), and the Royals (2020).