With Watson Retiring and 5 Other Players Released, Dhoni & CSK Could Be On The Lookout For A Couple Of Key Figures Who Could Help Them Get Back To Winning Ways.
It’s safe to say that MS Dhoni and the 3 time Champions, Chennai Super Kings endured their worst ever IPL season in 2020, having looked completely out of sorts and miss out on a playoff spot for the first time in their history. We expected wholesale changes from the master tactician and Stephen Fleming but CSK have still retained the core of their squad to some extent, given that the auction on the 18th of February in Chennai is only perhaps a mini-auction given the potential entry of two new teams in 2022, with a massive auction to precede it. The late form of Ruturaj Gaikwad was a lone spark for Dhoni’s side last season and the addition of Robin Uthappa as a trade from Rajasthan Royals could see him go back to a familiar role at the top of the order to fill the void left by the experience of Shane Watson. There are still gaps to fill though with the 22+ Cr left to spend, but with 7 overseas players already in the squad, there’s room for only one more. We think we might have a clue of what the Chennai think-tank have in mind though and if we’re right come the 18th of Feb, you can thank us then!
1. Steve Smith
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A clean up of squads meant that a total of 27 International stars and 28 Indian players were released by the franchises and one of the biggest names thrown back into the auction is that of the former Aussie and Rajasthan Royals skipper, Steve Smith, who is a former teammate of a certain MS Dhoni from their time together at the Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016 & 17.
Pune went on to make the final in 2017 with Smith leading Dhoni that season and with Watson gone, it might be a great time to bring in another Aussie who has a massive point to prove and could even see an eventual changing of the guard in terms of captaincy if all goes to plan. Chennai have Faf, Rayudu, Raina, Ruturaj and now Robin at the top but Smith is a man who could fit anywhere and his successful relationship with Dhoni could make him a frontrunner for CSK to splash the cash.
2. K Gowtham
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CSK’s releases in 2020 included off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, leggie Piyush Chawla who could bowl in the powerplay and middle order batsman, Kedar Jadhav and in K Gowtham, who was released by Kings XI Punjab, Dhoni might find an all-in-one package to fit perfectly. Gowtham is capable of bowling with the new ball, can give you an over in the middle and can strike it a LONG way as a finisher too. Gowtham reveled under Steve Smith at RR and has perhaps been underutilized over the last few seasons, and we all know MS Dhoni has a way of extracting the most out of one’s potential! Gowtham, DJ Bravo, MS Dhoni and Jadeja could make for one MIGHTY middle order! Oh did we mention he’s South Indian too???
3. Umesh Yadav
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CSK’s releases in 2020 included off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, leggie Piyush Chawla who could bowl in the powerplay and middle-order batsman, Kedar Jadhav and in K Gautam, who was released by Kings XI Punjab, Dhoni might find an all-in-one package to fit perfectly. Gautam is capable of bowling with the new ball, can give you an over in the middle and can strike it a LONG way as a finisher too. He’s perhaps been underutilized over the last few seasons and we all know
CSK’s batting lacked bite in 2020 but it was also their bowling that was equal cause for concern. While they possessed multiple quality options in the spin department (and didn’t even use all of it) they seem to have room in the “Indian pacers” department with Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur carrying the load but not quite making inroads when it mattered. Sam Curran brought the element of swing to the line-up but under the eagle eye of MS Dhoni, perhaps the best of Umesh Yadav is still to come. He has pace, swing with the new ball and the ability to give his side early wickets…and he’s Indian, which is a huge bonus when it comes to the laundry list that teams have at the moment.
OTHER DARK HORSES FOR A SPOT AT CSK
While we think Smith, Gautam and Umesh tick the boxes that Dhoni and CSK are currently looking to fill, we wouldn’t be surprised if names like Dawid Malan, Jimmy Neesham or even Mujeeb Ur Rahman grabbed bids from Stephen Fleming on the 18th of February.
Malan is the world’s #1 T20 batsman and could fill the boots of Watson, Stephen Fleming’s Kiwi-ness could turn an eye towards fellow countryman Neesham to add depth to the batting and offer more bowling that Kedar Jadhav did and Mujeeb could be a complete outside chance if CSK are looking for a sure shot option to partner Jadeja, Karn Sharma, Sai Kishore and Imran Tahir, although he is perhaps the most unlikely name on this list.
All eyes will be on Fleming and the men in yellow come the 18th with the familiar sight of the management with one ear on their mobile phones to none other than MS Dhoni!
[Image Credit: Chennai Super Kings]
Suhail Chandhok
Vertical Head - Sports