Chennai Super Kings all-rounder, Kedar Jadhav, has been ruled out of Indian Premier League’s 2018 edition due to a hamstring tear during a curtain raiser against Mumbai Indians on April 7. His unavailability has left CSK in all sorts of trouble.
The MS Dhoni-led side needs a replacement for him soon.
Let’s have a look at possible candidates who could replace Kedar Jadhav in Chennai Super Kings –
Rajat Bhatia:
It was a big surprise to see domestic veteran Rajat Bhatia not getting any buyer in the two-day long IPL auction.
Bhatia is one of the best all-rounders in IPL but this year, he found no attention whatsoever.
Probably, missing the domestic season was the reason behind it. He has already signed up as a commentator for the tournament.
Although, Bhatia will be always ready to make an on-field comeback if called in.
Bhatia will provide luxury to the team by providing his services in both the departments of a game.
In addition, Bhatia is available at a price of INR 40 Lakh. He was representing Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in IPL last year, along with CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Martin Guptill:
Though not a like-to-like replacement, Martin Guptill is also a prospect to be called in. He has presented a strong case of being called in IPL by scoring heavily in Twenty20 Internationals played after IPL auction.
The aggressive batsman Guptill smacked 258 runs in five games in the T20I tri-series.
However, he hasn’t got a call-up till now despite few of the players getting injured and being replaced.
Now, it looks like he might be called in as CSK are looking for an experienced player.
Moises Henriques:
The exciting Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques may not be in the scheme of things at the moment but his credentials are hard to be ignored.
In IPL 2017, he scored 277 runs in 12 games at an average of 46.16 with a strike-rate of 136.45.
In IPL 2016, he scalped 12 wickets and also scored 182 runs.
This year, probably, Sunrisers Hyderabad somehow forgot his name during the pre-auction meetings.
The Australian cricketer is a handy player who can contribute in both the departments of the game.
CSK already have many spin bowling all-rounders and a pace bowling all-rounder is something which they might look out.
For Henriques, CSK will have to pay a big cheque of INR 1.50 crore.
James Faulkner:
The Australian all-rounder James Faulkner though did not have a great IPL last year, but he is one of the best players.
Also, he is an established finisher who also holds the tag of finishing the games for his side.
Faulkner, if given a chance, can do well for CSK and this might also help him to get back in the national fold as well.
A member of Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016 and 2017, Faulkner has played 60 matches till now in which he has scored 527 runs and has bagged 59 wickets.
CSK will need to pay INR 2 Crore to buy Faulkner with Kedar Jadhav to be out of the competition.
Here’s the newsfeed:
IPL 2018: 5th Match, KKR vs CSK- Predicted XI of Kolkata Knight Riders