Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has picked his playing 11 for CSK and has named his ideal replacement for Suresh Raina. The CSK team have all eyes set on them after having a tumultuous start to the IPL 2020. CSK were the last team to begin their training after their extended quarantine after 13 squad members including two players tested positive for COVID-19.
Their worries grew more as Suresh Raina, who had traveled with the squad to UAE had later decided to skip the IPL and returned home citing ‘personal reasons’, which was later found out to be a gruesome attack on his relatives which took away the life of his uncle and cousin died. CSK will also be without veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh who has withdrawn his name from the IPL this term, citing personal reasons.
Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh
Aakash Chopra’s ideal CSK batting lineup for IPL 2020
The former Indian opener has picked Shane Watson along with Ambati Rayudu for the opening spot for CSK. He mentioned on the Australian having played no international games since 2018, yet has always silenced his doubters with some hard-hitting.
“At No.1, I am putting Shane Watson. He doesn’t play international cricket, which goes against him. We said the same thing the last 2 years, but he went hard at the bowlers. There was a time when everyone thought that he should be dropped but MS Dhoni didn’t do that and then Watson repaid the faith shown on him.
“Along with him will be Ambati Rayudu. The last twelve months have been eventful for him. He first announced his retirement and then unretired himself. Now we will have to see how he bats in the IPL.
At number 3 he picked South African batsman, Faf du Plessis as Suresh Raina’s replacement. The pressure would be immense on du Plessis to fill Raina’s boots who is CSK’s highest run-scorer in the IPL.
“At No.3, I am going with Faf du Plessis. I think this season will be very important for him, especially if you see from CSK’s point of view. Because if he does well, then CSK will also do well because he will have to shoulder the burden of Raina’s absence. He plays spin well and is very fit also.
Aakash Chopra picks Faf du Plessis as Suresh Raina’s replacement. Image Credit: Twitter.
Indian all-rounder Kedar Jadhav was favored by Chopra for the number 4 spot and he kept skipper MS Dhoni at number 5 to play the role of a finisher in the team.
“At No.4, you can keep MS Dhoni or Kedar Jadhav. I have gone for the latter.
“So, we will have MS Dhoni at No.5. For MS Dhoni the simple rule should be that he should go into bat whenever 10-11 overs are done, irrespective of the batting position,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Aakash Chopra’s ideal CSK bowling lineup for IPL 2020
Chopra picked all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to go at number 6 for CSK, he reasoned it with MSD wanting 7 bowling options his team. He also stated that Jadeja needs to play a lead role this term for CSK, instead of the past supporting role he has played for the team.
Aakash Chopra (Image Credit: Facebook)
“Because MS Dhoni likes to go with 7 bowling options, we will have to go with Ravindra Jadeja at No.6. He is doing very well but in this season he will have to do much more as a batsman, he will have a lot of responsibility on him. Earlier he used to play a supporting role, this time he will have to do the lead role for CSK.”
The number 7 spot was given to West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, understanding his good form in the CPL. Aakash Chopra also said they had an option to play Sam Curran at number 7 too.
“At No.7, I have got Dwayne Bravo. He is coming in good form from the CPL. You also have the option of playing Sam Curran instead of him as an all-rounder option.
The number 8 and 9 spots were filled by spinners Imran Tahir and Piyush Chawla. Chawla was picked over Karn Sharma, given the big amount CSK paid for the former and he can bat as well.
“At No.8, it could be Mitchell Santner or Imran Tahir. May be we will have to go with Tahir else there would be two left-arm spinners. At No.9, I have got Piyush Chawla. They have paid a lot for him and they will have to play him ahead of Karn Sharma. And he will bat a bit as well.
Chopra’s pick for the pacers included Deepak Chahar who has just returned from an injury and has been tested positive for Covid-19 in the CSK camp. Aakash Chopra hopes he will be back in his form returning from the virus in time. At number 11 he picked right-arm medium-pacer Shardul Thakur.
“At No.10, I have got Deepak Chahar. He bowls well with the new ball in the powerplay. He takes a lot of wickets. Coming back after injury and COVID, the hope is that he will only move forward and not look behind. At No.11, I have got Shardul Thakur. You will have to play him with Harbhajan not being available, in case they had wanted to play more spin,” Aakash Chopra added.
Aakash Chopra’s ideal Chennai Super Kings playing XI:
