Irfan Pathan: No Replacement For Suresh Raina Hampered Balance Of CSK

Oct 2, 2020 at 2:07 PM

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Irfan Pathan: No Replacement For Suresh Raina Hampered Balance Of CSK

Irfan Pathan said that not bringing in a replacement for Suresh Raina has hampered the balance of three-time Indian Premier League champions Chennai Super Kings. They are struggling to find consistency after two consecutive losses in the ongoing IPL 2020 in the UAE. MS Dhoni-led side started off on the right note, picking up a win by 5 wickets over the defending champions and four-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians in the season opener.

Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan. Credits: Twitter

Irfan Pathan: CSK Are Not Settled As They Are Without An Extra Bowler

Chennai Super Kings are without the services of leading run-scorer of CSK Suresh Raina and veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, both of whom opted out from IPL 2020 even before commencement. To add to their woes first match MOM batsman Ambati Rayudu and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo had suffered injuries and were unable to play. But both have recovered and are set to feature in upcoming matches.

“For the first time it is looking that the Chennai Super Kings team is not settled. They had problems before the start of the IPL, Suresh Raina went back and they have not taken a replacement for him till now,” Pathan said.

Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis. Image Credit: Getty Images.

“Because of that there have been lot of problems in the team composition. If Suresh Raina had been batting at No.3, they could have played an extra bowler. Currently, they have only 5 bowlers. Kedar Jadhav not being bowled by MS Dhoni is also a cause of concern,” he added.

CSK lost the last two matches despite winning against Mumbai Indians in the opening game. Ambati Rayudu scored a match-winning 71 in the 1st match but then got injured. Faf Du Plessis has scored 173 runs including two fifties and is 3rd highest run-scorer in IPL 2020 after KXIP’s KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. His average of 86.5 is also third among leading averages after MI’s Kieron Pollard and KKR’s Eoin Morgan in IPL 2020. Murali Vijay has scored only 32 runs, Kedar Jadhav has scored 48 runs while MS Dhoni has scored 44 runs and Shane Watson has scored 51 runs.

Irfan Pathan: Teams Playing With Additional Bowler Are Stronger

Bowlers of CSK haven’t been exceptional either. Pacer Lungi Ngidi has picked up 4 wickets in 2 matches while spinner Ravindra Jadeja has picked up only 2 wickets at a high average of 63.

Piyush Chawla has picked up 4 wickets averaging 27.25. Sam Curran though is the best among the lot as he has 5 wickets averaging a meagre 17.6. Deepak Chahar has 3 wickets averaging 33.66.

 

Sam Curran
Sam Curran

“The teams which have been playing with an additional bowler in the IPL are looking stronger. More than a finisher, MS Dhoni is himself such a great finisher. He needs to ensure that he plays at least 10 overs and Chennai Super Kings must field an extra bowler. Then the rest of the things will be set,” Pathan further said.

Irfan Pathan suggested like other experts that MS Dhoni should bat higher up the order and CSK must field an extra bowler to get back into winning ways.

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