Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes MS Dhoni has taken a different route with the players picked in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) playing XI in the ongoing edition of IPL, considering he is now playing only five specialist bowlers.
The veteran of 160 plus First-Class matches and 10,000+ runs further mentioned that CSK is having few issues with their top-order, and the absence of Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina has weakened the middle-order.
Faf du Plessis, who generally bats at the opening slot, has been scoring runs at No. 3 in IPL 2020. He is currently the orange cap holder with 176 runs, averaging 86.50, and a couple of fifties.
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Absence of Rayudu is a big concern: Aakash Chopra
“For the first time in my memory, Dhoni the captain is playing only with five bowlers. He doesn’t like playing with five bowlers, but this time he is,” said Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel.
“He is a bit concerned about his batting. The absence of Rayudu is a big concern. He is not 100 percent confident about his batting form. With Ruturaj Gaikwad coming in and Murali Vijay not making runs, he is not confident to play 6 bowlers.”
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Chopra further spoke on Ravindra Jadeja’s form with the ball and how it hasn’t helped CSK in the matches played in IPL 2020.
In three matches, Jadeja has conceded over 40 runs and managed to scalp just two wickets, at an average and economy of 63.00 and 10.50 respectively. It is a bit surprising, considering been one of the most sought players in IPL history, and grabbed 108 wickets at an economy of 7.66.
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“If you observe Jadeja this season, he has bowled 4 overs in all three matches and conceded more than 40 runs each time. If he is going to leak so many runs, you have got nowhere else to go. No one else is bowling, only 5 bowlers in the team. That’s very unlike Dhoni, but it’s happening,” added Chopra.
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In the CSK’s bowling unit, Sam Curran has been the biggest positive so far, grabbing 5 wickets at an average and economy of 17.60 and 7.33 respectively. Josh Hazlewood, who was roped in as a replacement for Lungi Ngidi, ended with figures of 4-0-28-0. Though he remained wicketless, he seemed to be bowling in the right areas.
Chennai Super Kings will now take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on October 2 in Dubai.
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