It is difficult to digest that Mahendra Singh Dhoni will not captain the Chennai Super Kings. He has been the leader since the inaugural season of the IPL. A large part of the CSK's success and culture has been a result of the astute leadership of Dhoni.
The man named as the new skipper, Ravindra Jadeja has never captained any side in senior cricket. But it is Dhoni himself who feels Jadeja, who is in the prime of his career, deserves to be named skipper. Agree or not, when Dhoni speaks people listen and obey. The focus is now on Jadeja.
CSK have always trusted their oldtimers. The management had no qualms in rebuying veterans such as Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayudu and Robin Uthappa. The big question for Chennai is how long can the season veterans keep producing the goods?
There is, however, a slight transition in the process. Faf Du Plessis has exited and Suresh Raina was not retained. But in Devon Conway, Chennai seem to have found an ideal like-for-like replacement for Du Plessis. Conway can bat anywhere in the top 4 and has the ability to anchor the innings. Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the fulcrum of the batting again and it will be interesting to see how he copes with the second-year syndrome. If Gaikwad and Conway can manage a 600 run season respectively, CSK should be easily posting healthy totals on a consistent basis.
The batting has depth and experience. Rayudu and Uthappa are such seasoned campaigners that they can resurrect innings from scratch or add the required impetus in the middle. The inclusion of Shivam Dube also provides another power-hitting option in the middle or lower order. Bravo and Dhoni’s batting may have faded in recent years, but both are still capable of cameos which are bound to pave way for at least a couple of victories during the season.
But perhaps the most important member of CSK’s campaign is the captain — Jadeja. The all-rounder has not only become an efficient power hitter, but he is now an accomplished finisher. Jadeja’s strike rate of 146 was the fifth-highest for a batsman that played 10 or more games last season. With Dube, Rayudu, Dhoni to assist Jadeja, the middle and lower order look formidable. Four of the top 10 six hitters in the last year's IPL were from Chennai. The batting looks fearsome and should hold up against pressure, but it is the bowling that raises a few eyebrows.
Deepak Chahar's injury has really depleted the fast bowling stocks. Chahar could be back for the end of the season, but until then Chennai need to find a fast bowler that can take wickets in the power play. Last season 75% of Chahar's wickets came in the power play and with him missing the start there is a question mark on who can take wickets upfront.
Chris Jordan and Adam Milne are capable of taking wickets with the new ball, but can do it as consistently as Chahar remains to be seen. The inclusion of Jordan means Chennai have two accomplished death-over specialists in Bravo and Jordan.
Also, Shardul Thakur was their leading wicket-taker last season and had the knack of picking up wickets when required. The big question is who is going to play Thakur's role for CSK? Tushar Deshpande is a bowler who can play a similar role. Deshpande has pace, variation and is accustomed to bowling at the death. The other option is to play 20-year-old raw pacer Rajvardhan Hangargekar. One of these bowlers needs to fill the void, otherwise, it is evident Chennai seem to lack a genuine wicket-taker. CSK will be content with Indian pacers having a high economy rate as long as they can provide regular breakthroughs.
The finger spin department looks solid with Jadeja and Moeen Ali. However, apart from rookie Prashant Solani, there is no wrist spinning option. But given Chennai don't experiment too much with the playing XI, they feel the finger spinners are adequate. The only issue might be if either Jadeja or Moeen get injured as there is hardly any backup spinning option.
Expect Dhoni and Jadeja to quickly evaluate their frontline bowling unit and there is enough variation, however one feels the absence of Chahar at the start will affect the balance of the bowling unit.
One can never underestimate Chennai Super Kings despite their ageing squad. However, the absence of Chahar at the start of the season, the loss of Thakur and Du Plessis combined with the fact that the core is a year older is bound to eventually catch up with them. Expect them to still make the semi-finals but there are doubts they can win the title again.
Click here to read Factboxes of all teams
Click here to follow comprehensive coverage of IPL 2022
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/egKAxV5
No comments:
Post a Comment