After winning the opening game of IPL against Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings has slumped to two defeats on the bounce. Despite a fight against Rajasthan Royals, they went down aimlessly against Delhi Capitals, being outclassed in every single department.
They are already missing the likes of Suresh Raina who opted out of the fray even before it started, citing personal reasons and then Harbhajan Singh followed suit. Rayudu who played the match-winning role in the IPL opener copped a niggle and was also sidelined for the next two games. This unexpected omission of players created an opportunity for Ruturaj Gaikwad. Unfortunately, he was beyond woeful.
A question that will be raging wild in the ranks of Chennai Super Kings is that is their batting order correct? The calculations have been all over the place with Dhoni still not sure which position would suit him the most, Murali Vijay has been an entire flop show, Shane Watson still to free his arms and whether to try Sam Curran higher up the order. It has felt like an unsolvable conundrum and Chennai is slowly traipsing into a vortex of entropy if they cannot manage to get the puzzle in a place.
We will look at two players who should be dropped in the next game to accommodate a stronger force for Chennai so that they can get back to the winning tracks.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad
This was probably the best shot at fame that Gaikwad could have managed for himself. With Rayudu and Raina out of the equation, he could have hung in there for a while and then could have brought out the fine strokes that he is known for. Unfortunately, he has been a total waste of talent and in the two games that he played, he has been dismissed for a golden duck against Rajasthan Royals and for a paltry 5 runs against Delhi Capitals. He has looked discombobulated and he has failed to even strike one ball fairly which would make the team believe that this youngster has some promise in him. With Rayudu returning in the next game, he will most likely be axed and even if Rayudu doesn’t return, it is kind of a mandate for Chennai that they let this player be dropped to accommodate a better talent in the team than this untested prodigy.
- Murali Vijay
Being one of the finest openers at one point in time that saw him carve a few classic cricketing shots did inspire Chennai to retain him in their ranks. However, where they went wrong was the fact that he is no longer the scintillating cricketer that he used to be. He is terribly unfit and his hand-eye coordination has been an arrant mess. He has failed to look comfortable against the fast bowlers and missed most of the deliveries those were hurled at his body with pace. He has also been woeful in the field with several misfields which is a nefarious crime at such high-level cricket. Chennai still has Narayan Jagadeesan in their squad who can open the innings for them. He is also a good wicket-keeper whom Dhoni can groom for the future. Jagadeesan has proven himself in the domestic circuit and will be a good choice to open the innings so that a bare minimum contribution can be added in the opening partnership to give the middle-order a shot at redemption.
