Defending champions Chennai Super Kings have registered a horrible start to their campaign in Tata IPL 2022. CSK has lost all first four of its matches in the tournament. They are already on the brink of getting thrown out of the top four race.
Ravindra Jadeja, the newly appointed captain, has looked clueless and has taken some baffling decisions that are hard to digest for CSK fans. For the first time in IPL history, Super Kings are not playing like a unit determined to triumph.
What has caused the downfall of CSK in Tata IPL 2022? Much of it is due to the poor auction policy that has devoid them of many match-winners.
Super Kings did not go to great lengths to acquire their dependable opener Faf du Plessis, from the previous season. The management did not even bid for CSK veteran Suresh Raina and entirely based their bowling strategy on Deepak Chahar, who unfortunately got injured even before the tournament began.
Nevertheless, whatever happened in the IPL Mega Auction could not be changed, but there are a few things that Chennai Super Kings can change to turn around their fortune in Tata IPL 2022:
3 must-changes for CSK:
1- Shuffle the batting order
Chennai Super Kings need to reevaluate their batting order and develop a solution that boosts their prowess from beginning to the end in an inning. The most feasible option for CSK is to slot Robin Uthappa on third as a pinch-hitter and bring Rayudu up at the opening slot with Ruturaj Gaikwad.
They can put Moeen at four with Ravindra Jadeja to come at five, followed by Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni. Gaikwad needs a partner at the top who can compliment him and attacks while he takes his time to settle down. Faf had played this role magnificently, but Rayudu has also been a successful opener for CSK in a tournament winning campaign.
2- Replacement for Deepak Chahar
Chennai should have opted for a replacement player for Deepak Chahar at the beginning of the tournament itself since he will miss out on most of the Tata IPL 2022 anyways due to the quadriceps injury. CSK’s decision to wait for him to get fit is making a heavy adverse impact on them.
The only viable option that CSK now possess is to include the bowling-allrounder Rajvardhan Hangrekar into the playing XI and mould a match-winning personality out of him. New uncapped players have been phenomenal in IPL 2022, and Hangrekar can be the same for the troubled four-time champions.
3- CSK needs an Aggressive Approach in the middle overs
CSK needs an aggressive and blistering approach in the middle overs. Both their batters and bowlers have been unable to make an impact in the tone-setting 7-15 overs. Their batting unit needs to have the license to go berserk in middle-overs to put pressure on the opposition.
On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja needs to put his hand up and act as the leader of the bowling attack in the middle overs. He has the ability to restrict opponents and take wickets. Jadeja needs to concentrate on his bowling while handing the captaincy for a few overs to seasoned MS Dhoni.
Also read: Is Dhoni purely as wicket-keeper batter worth 12 Crores or 1.2 Crores?