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1 No India pacer
The Chennai Super Kings had let go India pacer Deepak Chahar prior to the auction and then went hammer and tongs in the auction to buy him back for a whopping Rs 14 crore. But Chahar is injured and his participation in IPL 2022 is under doubt. But the real problem is not the absence of Chahar but the lack of back-up.
They have tried to cover the absence of Chahar with the likes Tushar Deshpande and Mukesh Choudhary and they have not find their feet so far. Even the reserves pacers like Simarjeet Singh, Subhranshu Senapati are not looking very promising either. That Achilles heel came to the fore when Shivam Dube conceded 26 runs in the 19th over against Rajasthan Royals. Jadeja had left with no option.
If indeed Chahar is not able to play in the IPL 2022, the CSK would do themselves a world of good to identify a potential replacement.
2 No Power Hitter
The CSK’s auction strategy was really confusing. They bought back players like Robin Uthappa and Ambati Rayudu but let go someone like Faf du Plessis. Du Plessis would have given them a splendid captaincy option, and would have ensured the continuation of that successful opening alliance between him and Ruturaj Gaikwad, which played a big part in CSK winning the IPL 2021. Without Faf at the other end, Ruturaj looked a pale shadow in IPL 2022 so far for Chennai Super Kings.
To make matters worse, both Rayudu and Moeen Ali, who was retained, have not looked anywhere near their best and even at the best of times, they are not real power hitters who can ransack an attack from the word go.
Gujarat has Hardik Pandya, Rajasthan Royals have Shimron Hetmyer, Punjab Kings have Liam Livingstone etc, the players who can bring mass destruction. But the CSK are trying to fire from a cannon when others have modern howitzers.
3 Captaincy or the lack of it
Just a couple of days ago, the Chennai Super Kings announced the appointment of Ravindra Jadeja as their captain for IPL 2022 in the place of MS Dhoni, ending the long-term 'Thala’ era. The elevation of Jadeja to the lead role is not exactly surprising too as he has been a part of CSK core unit for a while now but has he delivered as of now?
In the first match against the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022, Jadeja looked overawed and MS Dhoni did things like field placements while the all-rounder manned outfield. The 'shadow captaincy’ has not worked well so far for CSK. Jadeja needs to be more assertive as captain as right now he seems a deputy to Dhoni.
But the younger captains like Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and even Hardik Pandya looked confident and in charge of their teams. Jadeja needs to take a leaf out of their book.
4 Coaching
The CSK have been served well by head coach Stephen Fleming over the years. While the Kiwi has overseen four title triumphs, the CSK are in need of a fresh perspective and edge from the think tank. Fleming can assume a more backroom role like Director or mentor and hands on coaching can be given to someone like Mike Hussey or anyone else without sacrificing the ethos and values CSK stand for like loyalty to players.
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