Chennai Super Kings(CSK) have clearly overcome a horrible 2020 IPL Season and look certain to make it to the playoffs of the 2021 season, with 5 wins in just 7 matches. With Dhoni’s future at CSK being uncertain, meaning the retirement call might come anytime soon, the IPL squad of CSK in 2022 will have a huge difference as compared to its 2018 IPL squad.
With December being the final deadline for mega-auctions, most of the retentions will happen on the performance of the players in the second half of IPL 2021. Ravindra Jadeja will clearly be retained based on his strong performances for CSK over a decade and Moeen Ali being the next favorite to be retained due to his strong role in the team. Whether Dhoni will be retained or not is a big decision everyone will be curious about. But the following three players need to play well if they want to stand a chance at retention, and also due to the spark they have shown in recent tournaments, they must continue to do the same in the next half of the IPL season too.
3) Suresh Raina:
Suresh Raina has been one of the top performers for CSK throughout its history and had always lived up to his “Mr.IPL” tag that he earned so skillfully with his consistency. It was a common sight for fans to see Raina rescue CSK from tough situations and lead them to the playoffs. However,with age not being in his favour, and with Moeen Ali kind of “replacing him” , Raina must prove a point that he still has the ability to perform at the peak level just the way he did for so many years.
2) Ruturaj Gaikwad :
Dhoni’s “spark in youngsters” comment hadn’t gone well with the media and probably with Ruturaj too because it was just after that comment that the youngster had picked his form and scored three half centuries in a row, a record for a player of CSK throughout its whole history. Ruturaj has shown that one can score runs in T20 even with orthodox shots and risk-free cricket. However, poor average and strike rate are the concerns with this young Maharashtra player. With the second half of IPL coming, Ruturaj must prove that he is worthy enough to be retained by the second most successful franchise of IPL.
1) Sam Curran :
Sam Curran was the ray of hope in otherwise dull IPL season of 2020 for CSK. With his quick fire batting and a knack to strike wickets when given the ball, Sam has proved his ability in the biggest T20 tournament of the world. Curran’s presence has also attracted lots of fans towards CSK due to his good looks and innocent face. However, Sam would need to prove it with his performances too that he can take this franchise towards the desired results.
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